The TK Wizard
by Maralien
Summary: Aria is one of the few mutants in our dimension free from government control in a world where the public doesn't know mutants exist. Aside from a secret school for gifted youngsters, there are no safe havens for mutants. At least, until a mutant with god-like telekinetic ability saved a wilder from a government raid and started her own school. Femslash. OC:Aria/Sammy.
1. The TK Wizard

I would make disclaimers about character ownership, but since this is a Fanfiction site, that seems rather unnecessary.

**Chapter 1**

"Why didn't you tell me you were living in such a hole?" Aria demanded with an indignant squawk.

"I thought you knew I was part hobbit," Sammy replied nonchalantly. Her dark eyes glanced around the rundown trailer as a light blush filled her dark cheeks. The seasonal employee housing was about as white-trashy as it was possible to get.

"Let's see your feet," Aria gestured at her shoes imperiously. "Lose the shoes."

"I'm only part hobbit," Sammy admitted, a slight curve to her lips. "I don't have hairy feet."

"That's it," Aria told her with a note of finality. "Pack your stuff. You're moving in with me."

"What?" Sammy gasped, her jaw dropping.

"I have a second bedroom in my apartment I don't even use," Aria explained with a shrug. "I'm only home a couple of days a week in the summer anyway. The place feels more like a tomb than a home. I need someone else to bring some life into it."

"Are you serious?" Sammy asked skeptically. "You know people are going to talk if I move in with you."

"About what?" Aria asked uncomprehendingly.

"About us…" Sammy paused, her cheeks flushing again. "You know…two single people moving in together."

"Because I have a roommate?" Aria asked in confusion. "What are they going to talk about?"

"Um…" Sammy's eyes darted around the room as she avoided Aria's curious gaze. "I don't know…they would just assume…you know?"

"I must be extra dense today, because I have no idea why you're acting so weird about this," Aria declared with a small laugh. "Now come on, let's get packing. I'll borrow one of the warehouse trucks to move everything."

Sammy stared at the diminutive blonde standing in front of her uncertainly. It was times like this that she wished the small woman didn't wear those rose-tinted glasses that hid her eyes. Sammy had a feeling that a lot of mischief hid behind those glasses.

"Come on," Aria urged excitedly. "Let's go get some boxes from the warehouse."

Sammy gave a resigned sigh as the small woman seized her hand and pulled her out the door. She would have resisted more, but her pride had a strong sense of logic. The employee apartments that the full-time employees lived in were actually quite nice, and the thought of spending the entire summer in this trailer dump would be more punishing to her self-esteem than having to shack-up with one of the full-time employees.

Sammy smiled as she watched Aria almost dancing with glee as they got into her sports car. She still wasn't sure why Aria had latched on to her as soon as she had arrived at the seasonal resort. At first, she thought the tiny woman was interested in a relationship. The other full time employees had quickly assured her that Aria was as interested in physical relationships as rocks were. The other employees were quite shocked to see how social Aria was with her; apparently, she had been a notorious recluse for the five years she had lived in the small resort.

Aria was one of the most attractive people Sammy had ever seen, so it was a surprise to learn that she never dated anyone. Aside from her limited height, she looked like a barby doll. At least two-thirds of her length was made up of slender legs. A cascading river of brilliant blonde hair undulated halfway down her back. The only thing that made her easy to differentiate from a child was the generous real-estate on her chest.

The biggest mystery, according to the other year-round employees who occasionally saw her, was what her eyes looked like. Nobody had ever seen her without the rose-tinted glasses that hid her eyes. The fact that she worked almost exclusively at night made it even rarer for people to see her. As the IT Assistant, she usually waited for everyone to clock out at the end of the day before working on anything that might drop the network. The IT Manager handled most of the daytime problems, and he saw even less of his Assistant than everyone else did.

"Are you sure Mark will let you borrow the warehouse truck?" Sammy asked doubtfully as she fastened her seatbelt.

"Of course he will," Aria replied dismissively as she started the car. "If he wants to keep his internet, anyway."

Sammy felt perspiration bead on her skin as the super-heated car pulled out of her lot. It was almost one hundred and fifteen degrees outside, and Aria didn't even have the air conditioning turned on in her car. The crazy girl wasn't even sweating.

"Do you mind if I turn on the AC?" Sammy asked plaintively.

"Oh, my bad," Aria muttered, looking flustered. She hurriedly turned the AC up to full blast.

"Don't you get hot?" Sammy asked curiously.

"Thanks for noticing," Aria replied with a mischievous grin.

Sammy blinked. Was Aria purposely evading her question?

"Hey, there's my boss," Aria announced, waving excitedly as a silver Prius drove past the intersection they were stopped at.

Sammy looked at the middle-aged man she had met on her first day of work as he waved back lazily. He was wearing a black long-sleeved turtleneck, just like the day he had set her computer up. Maybe people who worked around computers all day just didn't feel the heat.

"Does he always wear turtlenecks in this heat?" Sammy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He has for the five years I've been here," Aria replied as she pulled out onto the main street. "There are only a few people who have lived here longer than he and his wife, and according to them he has always worn turtlenecks."

"Is he a junkie, or something?" Sammy asked with a frown. He hadn't seemed wired when she had met him. "And who's his wife?"

"No, I don't think he's a junkie," Aria replied with a slight smile. "I've seen him in short sleeve t-shirts, but only after the sun goes down. He's married to Elaine, the HR Manager."

"Does he think he's a vampire?" Sammy asked with a chuckle. The last part of what Aria said finally sunk in. "Wait a minute…he's married to Elaine?"

"Yep," Aria confirmed with a nod. "Their twelve year anniversary is coming up next month, on the eighth of August. I need to do something 'fun' for them." She added quotes with her fingers for the word 'fun'.

"What did you have in mind?" Sammy asked in amusement. Maybe the innocent girl act was going to step outside for a minute.

"They're going on a cruise to Alaska for ten days," Aria told her with a malicious grin. "I was going to replace their soap dispensers with syrup, unscrew their light bulbs a little bit, and bend one of the prongs on all of their cords so that only one is sticking into the wall jack. They'll think the power is out."

"Remind me to never piss you off," Sammy said with a nervous grin. "Is that how you celebrate all of your friends' anniversaries?"

"Trust me, he deserves it," Aria told her with a grin. "I promised your predecessor that I would get him back for her. I just hadn't got around to it yet."

"What did he do to her?" Sammy asked with a puzzled frown. It was hard to picture the serious seeming IT Manager having a sense of humor.

"First, he took a screen shot of her desktop and set it as her wallpaper, then hid all of her icons and taskbar so that she thought her computer was frozen," Aria said with an amused shake of her head. "After that, he put a note on the copy machine that said it was now voice activated. She spent five minutes trying to get it to copy a document before Elaine came into the mailroom to try to figure out whom she was talking to. Then he put a vb script on her computer that started counting down from ten, with a message that said the computer would self-destruct at zero. She freaked out and ran out of the room shouting for everyone to take cover."

Sammy couldn't stop laughing as her mind supplied the visuals for the story. "Was she a complete airhead? How could someone fall for that?"

"As a matter of fact, someone actually put her name as one of the definitions for airhead on Urban Dictionary," Aria said with a grin. "She was a sweet girl, but she took gullible to untouched realms of credulity."

"Will Mark still be working?" Sammy asked as they pulled up to the warehouse. "I thought he closed the warehouse at five."

"I'm one of the property's four Key Masters," Aria told her with a conspiratorial glance to both sides. "I can get into all of the buildings."

"Do I dare ask who the Gatekeeper is?" Sammy asked dryly.

"Huh?" Aria asked, looking nonplussed and tense.

"Not a Ghostbusters fan, I take it," Sammy replied with a giggle she couldn't hold back as she thought of Bill Murray claiming to be a friend of the Key Master.

"Oh…yeah," Aria said slowly, her shoulders relaxing. "Great flick. We should watch it tonight."

"What did you think I meant?" Sammy asked curiously.

"No idea," Aria replied airily. "Do you remember what the alarm code is?"

Sammy paused in the act of pursuing Aria's strange behavior further. "Why would I know what the alarm code is?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Aria asked flippantly as she unlocked the warehouse door and started the alarm's thirty-second countdown. "I'm pretty sure it is three eight six something."

"I hope you remember soon," Sammy said nervously. "The Park Rangers are pretty trigger happy with those tazers."

"I'm pretty sure the last digit is one," Aria muttered quietly as she started punching numbers on the number pad.

Sammy swallowed as the beeping interval sped up for the final five-second countdown.

"Silly me," Aria tsked in mock irritation. "It was a two!"

Sammy let out a relived breath as the green Ready light lit up and the beeping stopped. It wasn't until they were collecting boxes from near the compactor that she realized Aria had probably orchestrated the whole event to keep her from asking more questions about her odd reaction to 'the Gatekeeper' question. Before she could question her new roommate about it, Aria was on the phone with someone.

"Hey Mark!" Aria greeted the warehouse manager brightly. "This is Aria. I was wondering if I could borrow your box van to help move my new roommate over to my apartment."

Sammy smirked to herself as she heard Mark stumble over his words as he assured Aria that of course she could use his box van, and did she need any help? Having the hottest roommate in ten states definitely had advantages.

"So is he going to move all of my stuff for us?" Sammy asked in amusement when Aria ended the call.

"Do you want him to?" Aria asked carefully, looking at her speculatively. "He's single, you know."

Sammy felt her ears heat up suddenly as her teasing backfired. "No, that's okay. He's a nice guy, but not my type."

"And what _is_ your type?" Aria asked interestedly as she gathered up an armful of boxes and opened one of the garage doors. "You don't like short men?"

"I don't mind short people," Sammy murmured, gathering up several boxes to hide her flushed face.

"Too muscular for you?" Aria continued her probing questions. "Most girls like muscular men."

"I definitely don't like muscular men," Sammy muttered, feeling a small shudder go through her body at the thought.

"I see," Aria said after a short pause. "Well, tell me what you're looking for and I'll tell you if it's available. I know most of the people who live here."

"What are _you_ looking for?" Sammy asked after an embarrassed silence.

"Me?" Aria asked in surprise.

"Do you see anyone else around who I might be referring to?" Sammy asked dryly.

"I'm not looking for anything," Aria replied in what sounded like a mechanical response.

"Oh come on," Sammy insisted doubtfully. "Everyone is looking for something."

Aria didn't reply as she tossed her armful of boxes into the back of the box van. Sammy let out a frustrated sigh as she tossed her own boxes into the box van. One of the smaller boxes missed the back of the van and glanced the side of Aria's head, knocking her rose-tinted glasses off. Sammy had a split second to stare into large, lavender eyes before the small woman hurriedly bent down and snatched her glasses off the ground and put them back on.

Sammy stood still as she replayed the scene in her head. Not only were Aria's eyes a color she had never seen on another human, her pupils were elliptical, like a cat. Her eyes were huge; just like a Disney cartoon character's eyes. Rather than detract from her stunning beauty, the large lavender eyes enhanced it with an exotic flavor that made the small woman nearly irresistible.

**_oooooo_  
**

Sammy gave herself a shake as Aria picked up the box that had hit her and threw it in the box van as if nothing had happened. _What am I supposed to do? Ask her if she's an alien?_

"Would you feel comfortable driving the box van?" Aria asked her awkwardly. "For some reason they didn't have short people in mind when they put the pedals so far away from the seat."

Sammy just nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak yet. _Lots of people wear colored contacts. It doesn't mean she's an alien; but why does she wear glasses to hide them all of the time if they are contacts?_

"The keys are in the cup holder," Aria told her softy as she walked around and climbed into the passenger side. Sammy could almost feel waves of discomfort emanating away from the smaller woman, which made her feel bad about her reaction.

She usually never felt anything with her overdeveloped sense of empathy around Aria. She had chalked it up to the other woman's iron self-control before, because she usually felt some kind of emotion from everyone. Sammy's mother had told her she was an extremely sensitive person, and that was why she was so vulnerable to other people's moods. Of course, that didn't explain why she tended to get drunk around other drunk people without imbibing any alcohol, or as high as a kite around tweekers. Her brother had always found it amusing to invite friends over to get wasted after she fell asleep and then wake her up. The videos he uploaded to youtube of her staggering around the house had almost gotten her in trouble for underage drinking at school. Luckily, they couldn't prove she wasn't faking it since the videos never showed her actually drinking anything.

"So should I call you Violet from now on?" Sammy asked in a teasing voice as she got into the driver seat.

Aria shook her head without saying anything, staring out the passenger window with her face turned away.

Sammy reached out and gently touched Aria's arm. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Aria sighed, still refusing to turn her face away from the window. "It's nothing. You still okay with sharing my apartment?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sammy asked in surprise.

Aria finally turned to look at her. Her brows were drawn down in puzzlement. "You don't mind living with a freak?"

"Trust me," Sammy replied softly, her lips curving slightly. "I've lived with freaks, and you definitely don't qualify as one."

Sammy gasped as a wave of love hit her so powerfully that her eyes filled with tears. Just as quickly, the emotion vanished.

A small tear slid down Aria's cheek as she stared back at Sammy. "Thank you," Aria whispered with a tremulous smile.

Sammy blinked rapidly as she recovered from the overpowering emotional outburst. She had never felt an emotion from another person so strongly before. _Does she always feel emotions so powerfully? How does she manage to shield them all of the time?_

They drove back to her white-trash trailer in silence as both of them tried to recover their composures.

"How old are these trailers, anyway?" Sammy asked as she carefully backed into the lot next to her trailer.

"They bought them from a mining company in the late sixties," Aria replied, grinning ruefully. "They've attempted to remodel them a few times over the last five decades, but there is only so much you can do with a tin can."

"It's just not normal to be able to hear my neighbors talking about their sex life five lots down," Sammy said with a grimace. "I've lived in college dorms that blocked sound better than these trailers."

"Well the apartments are completely soundproof," Aria assured her as they got out and started unloading boxes. "My neighbor has karaoke parties until two in the morning, and I never hear a thing."

"You must live by Mike," Sammy guessed with a grin. "I've heard about the karaoke parties he and Jamie have. We were going to have them host an event at the rec center next week."

"The kids will love that," Aria said with a smile. "Living in the middle of nowhere can get really boring for some people."

"I suppose that's why you hire rec coordinator's like me to keep them entertained," Sammy said with a laugh. "I'm really just a glorified baby-sitter."

"It must be a rough life," Aria said in mock sympathy. "Spending your days planning out entertaining adventures and games."

"It's actually a lot of fun," Sammy admitted with a small smile. "Then again, it can be creepy. Some of the boys think I'm part of the entertainment package and have a hard time taking no for an answer."

"Which ones?" Aria asked with a small frown, her head cocked slightly to the side.

Sammy stared at her warily. Something in her tone made her hesitant to give any names. "Perhaps a list of the ones who _don't_ hit on me would be easier."

Aria watched her intently for a moment, and Sammy had the distinct feeling the other woman was listening to something. It would have been creepy if it wasn't so cute. She almost looked like a puppy, with her head tilted slightly to the side. When Aria's lips started twitching into a smile, Sammy blinked uncertainly. _Is she listening to my thoughts?_

The moment she thought it, Aria spun around and started surveying the room. "So do you have a permanent marker to label the boxes?"

"I don't have enough stuff with me to worry about labeling boxes," Sammy replied, watching the short blonde suspiciously. _I'm going to have to be careful what I think from now on._

"You just point and snap, and I'll start packing," Aria told her with a grin, snapping her fingers demonstrably.

Sammy tried to remain wary of her thoughts as they packed her house, but Aria was such an entertaining bundle of energy that she couldn't help getting caught up in the other woman's enthusiasm. It only took them an hour to get everything packed and loaded. Sammy felt her facial muscles getting sore from all of the smiling she had been doing for the last hour as Aria regaled her with all of the pranks the IT Manager had played on the other employees. The pranks were funny enough, but the way Aria told them made them much funnier. She had a way of gesticulating and expressing other people's actions that was absolutely hilarious.

"How has he survived living here so long without getting lynched?" Sammy asked as they drove over to the employee apartments.

"He balances out his pranks by fixing their personal computers," Aria explained with a shrug. "When you're three hours from the nearest city that has a computer repair shop, the last thing you want to do is drive out the only person willing to fix your computers."

"What does Elaine think of all of his pranks?" Sammy asked curiously. Technically, Elaine was her boss. If her husband was such a big prankster, she wondered if Elaine was also going to be a tease.

"Night and day," Aria laughed. "The two of them are proof that opposites attract. She's one of the nicest people you will ever meet, and she _always_ warns people about his pranks if she catches them in time. The two of them are a hoot to watch in action. They are sickeningly sweet to each other."

Sammy was still having difficulty reconciling the serious looking man she had met a week ago with the infamous prankster Aria was describing. She had been busy trying to translate the gobbledygook he was speaking into something that made sense as he showed her how to navigate the file server and back her local files up when she left the office at the end of the day. She wondered if Aria would be better at explaining how the system worked if she needed help in the future.

"Earth to Sammy," Aria waved her hand in front of Sammy's face. "You have safely landed. You can exit the vehicle now."

Sammy blinked, realizing she had just been sitting in the parking lot after parking the van. She blushed as she got out of the van and opened the back door.

"Do you take these mental sabbaticals often?" Aria asked with an amused grin.

_Only when you're around._ Sammy thought ruefully. Aloud, she said, "You have something wrong with religion?"

"Where tradition rules, thought is unnecessary," Aria replied immediately. "That's straight from the mouth of God."

"Hey, isn't that a David Eddings quote?" Sammy asked suspiciously.

"Like I said, straight out of the mouth of God," Aria replied with a smirk.

"I'm sure his ghost is happy to know he has at least one worshipper," Sammy said dryly. "It's good to know that you appreciate good fiction."

"If I were going to have kids and believed in rebirth, I would make sure that Robert Jordan, David Eddings, and Douglas Adams were my offspring," Aria said, making the sign of the cross for some reason.

"No kids, huh?" Sammy asked tentatively. She half-expected another evasion.

"I'm biologically incapable of having children," Aria explained as she hefted a box. "No uterus."

"I'm sorry," Sammy said quietly, also picking up a box.

"I was born that way, so I've always known I wouldn't be a biological mother," Aria replied with an awkward shrug. "If I ever start feeling maternal urges, I'll adopt."

Sammy couldn't help wondering what other biological differences Aria had from normal people. Her eyes were the most noticeable feature, but with the latest revelation, Sammy wondered what other organs and body parts were different. She had never seen Aria in anything but jeans and a button up shirt. The thought of seeing more of her body caused a warm sensation to spread to embarrassing places as she followed the small woman into her new apartment.

"We can just put all of the boxes here in the front room for now," Aria told her as she put down the boxes she was carrying. Her face was flushed, and Sammy suddenly worried that her tiny roommate might not be used to all of this physical exertion in the daytime heat. The apartment was much cooler than the trailer.

"You can stay and unpack while I unload boxes from the van," Sammy offered.

Aria's lips twitched again, making Sammy wish she could see the other woman's eyes again. "I'm fine."

Sammy suddenly realized what she had been thinking as they entered the house, and that she was supposed to be keeping a leash on her thoughts. She looked quickly at Aria to see a wide grin on the other woman's face as she hurriedly walked out the door. Sammy followed her slowly, with a worried frown on her face. _Holy shit, she really is telepathic!_

"Do you play any instruments?" Aria asked over her shoulder as she continued walking to the van.

"I play the radio pretty well," Sammy replied dryly. "I tried guitar for a while, but I never played consistently enough to get calluses on my fingertips. It's no fun playing guitar when your fingers get sore after five minutes of playing. How about you?"

"Me?" Aria asked in surprise.

"Well who else?" Sammy replied sarcastically. "Do you have a frog in your pocket that you think I'm talking to?"

A croaking noise came from somewhere in the region of Aria's pocket. "A frog, you say?"

"Oh, nice trick," Sammy grinned expectantly. "Now turn out your pockets. I want to see how you did that."

"Did what?" Aria asked airily as she grabbed another box and started back to the apartment.

"You just made a croaking noise from your pocket," Sammy said accusingly, picking up another box and following her inside.

"Oh, hey BJ, how's it going?" Aria smiled at her neighbor as he walked out of his apartment. He looked like one of those male models that spent a lot of time trying to make sure all of their hair was mussed just perfectly. He had a boyish face that was filled with astonishment as he watched Aria walking past him with Sammy in tow.

"Aria? Did you just knock on my door?" BJ asked as his eyes wandered over the two women's bodies unabashedly. He obviously felt confident that his attention was welcome.

"Nope," Aria replied innocently. "I couldn't have even if I wanted to." She hefted her box suggestively.

"Oh," BJ finally noticed they were carrying boxes. "I could have sworn I heard someone knock just now. Do you guys need a hand?"

"Do you see any guys around?" Aria asked Sammy mischievously. "Or was there something you wanted to tell me about yourself, Sammy?"

Sammy grinned as she watched BJ try to comprehend what Aria was saying. He seemed a little on the dim side. He slowly followed them over to her apartment with his brow creased in puzzlement.

"So is someone else moving in with you?" BJ asked slowly.

"Nope," Aria answered with a straight face.

"Oh…" BJ stared at them nonplussed from outside her apartment. Sammy almost felt bad for him at the lost look on his face as he tried to navigate waters that were obviously out of his depth.

"How are things going with Kelly?" Aria asked lightly as she emerged from the apartment for another trip to the van.

"Good," BJ answered distractedly. He was frowning in what Sammy assumed was concentration as he tried to regain control of the conversation. "So what's with all of the boxes?"

"What boxes?" Aria asked, looking around in mock confusion.

"You were just carrying some boxes into your apartment," BJ supplied helpfully.

"Do you remember what kind of boxes they were?" Aria asked gravely.

"What kind of boxes they were?" BJ asked in bafflement.

"Were they corrugated fiberboard, or paperboard?" Aria asked patiently.

"Um…" BJ looked at Sammy desperately, as if she might have a lifeline that could pull him into shallower waters.

The sound of a phone ringing echoed out of BJ's apartment.

"See you later, BJ," Aria waved a small salute.

"Yeah," BJ nodded quickly, glancing back at them one more time with a baffled look on his boyish face before he closed his door.

"You are so cruel," Sammy accused when she finally stopped shaking from silent laughter.

"It's true," Aria agreed with a nod. "I have a cruel streak that has a mind of its own sometimes. Sexist comments never fail to bring it out."

"Which sexist comment brought it out in this case?" Sammy asked with a raised eyebrow, though she was pretty sure she knew.

"He called us guys, against all the evidence to the contrary," Aria gestured at her body in annoyance. "While I know he didn't do it to be insulting, people need to have the habits they take for granted held up on display occasionally for them to understand how narrow-minded they are. You _know_ how a group of guys would react if we started saying things like 'you girls need any help with that?' It would be an instant war of the sexes. Yet, somehow, it is okay to refer to women as 'guys'." She finished with her traditional finger quote around the word 'guys'.

"Like your God said," Sammy said with a grin. "Where tradition rules, thought is unnecessary."

As Sammy turned to go back to the van for more boxes, Aria lightly grabbed her arm, causing chills to run down her spine.

"Let's unpack for a little while first," Aria suggested, nodding toward BJ's apartment. "He'll be coming out to bug us again if we don't give him a few minutes to give up."

"How do you know he'll get off the phone that fast?" Sammy asked curiously.

"Because I'm the one who called him," Aria replied with a wicked grin as she waved her iPhone indicatively.

"You are _so_ bad," Sammy said with a helpless laugh.

"Let me give you the tour before we unpack," Aria said before Sammy could start opening boxes.

"Okay," Sammy agreed with a smile. She had only heard the apartments described by other employees, and had never been inside one.

"Park Service was in charge of the blue prints for all of these, so our company didn't have the option to go cheap on us," Aria told her in satisfaction.

Sammy loved the hardwood flooring. Ever since she had read an article about how many bugs lived in carpet, she had hated it. There were wooden beams that crossed the ceiling, with a row of skylight windows covering the entire length of the apartment. The kitchen was medium sized, and it had a dishwasher! Sammy hadn't lived in a home equipped with a dishwasher since she moved out of her parent's house in suburbia. The front room where they had been putting there boxes was sparsely furnished, with a couch, chair, and bookcase. There were no end tables or plants visible.

The dining room was definitely not being used for dining. There were musical instruments of every kind in racks and stands around the room, some of them hanging on the beams that Aria would have needed a ladder to reach. A giant iMac was mounted to the wall, connected to an expensive-looking full-length Rolands keyboard.

"You play all of these instruments?" Sammy asked incredulously. There were six-string electric and acoustic guitars, along with four-string bass guitars hanging from the beams. A simple electric Rolands drum set was arranged near the kitchen bar. Flute and Oboe cases sat on shelves on the wall, along with several smaller instruments Sammy didn't even know the names for. A large Bass Cello stood in the corner, strategically surrounded by a viola and violin.

"Yeah," Aria admitted shyly.

"Oh my _God!_" Sammy shouted in excitement. "Do you have any of your own stuff? Let's hear it!"

"Maybe we should finish the tour…" Aria started, but Sammy cut her off.

"No evasions this time, young lady," Sammy marched over to the iMac and woke it up with a shake of the mouse. "Password please."

"Domina Noctis," Aria replied with a blush that was _way_ too adorable.

"Like the band?" Sammy asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Yeah," Aria replied with a small smile. "I had that as a password before they chose it as a band name though."

"And it means what?" Sammy asked curiously as she typed it in.

"I'm not sure," Aria said with another blush. "I just liked the way it sounded."

"You're such a bad liar," Sammy snorted. She pulled up Firefox and did a quick search. "Lady of the Night, huh? Sounds kinky…"

"It's the moon, you cad," Aria swatted her arm playfully.

"I thought you didn't know what it meant," Sammy grinned impudently. "Or did the Lady of the Night comment jog your memory?"

"Oh, you think you can tease me and get away with it, do you?" Aria asked in mock severity. "We'll just see about that."

Sammy only had time to squeal in fright as Aria dove at her and started tickling her sides. Laughing uncontrollably, Sammy flopped around in the armchair like a fish trying to dislodge her diminutive attacker. The small woman was as slippery as an eel as she tried to grab her, dancing around her while still managing to reach her most ticklish spots. With a shriek, Sammy finally stood up and wrapped her arms around Aria, binding the other woman's arms to her sides and lifting her into the air.

A moment later, she dropped Aria back to the ground in shock. She was small, but there was no possible _way_ that she could be that light. A twenty-pound bag of flower would have weighed more.

At some point during the roughhousing, Aria had lost her glasses again. As she turned to look up at Sammy, her large lavender eyes were filled with apprehension as she waited for Sammy to speak.

**_oooooo_  
**

"So how about we get a bite to eat at the restaurant, before you blow away," Sammy suggested with a small smile, trying to keep the shock off her face.

Aria blinked her large eyes slowly, looking small and vulnerable. "You really are the best roommate ever."

Sammy marveled at how expressive Aria's face was when her eyes were visible. In Aria's case, her eyes truly were the window to her soul. As she gazed into those lavender orbs, she was able to make out more detail than her brief glimpse from before had revealed. There were swirls of a lighter shade that looked like spiral arms of the galaxy around her pupils. She could have just stared into those beautiful eyes forever, if her growling stomach didn't mind starving for eternity.

"Restaurant sounds good to me," Aria's sudden smile lit up her face like the rising sun. She scooped up her glasses and was on her way to the door before Sammy finally snapped out of her trance.

They unloaded the remainder of the boxes in silence before returning to the warehouse to trade the box van for Aria's car. Sammy was forcing herself to remain quiet, even though she had a thousand questions for her new roommate.

How can anyone possibly be so light? That was the question that flashed into Sammy's mind more frequently than the other questions. She glanced sideways at Aria as they turned onto the lodge road, feeling silly as a sudden idea came to mind.

If you can hear what I am thinking, tap your finger on the steering wheel. Sammy wanted to just ask, but if she were wrong, she would look like a complete nut job.

Aria looked over at her and smiled slightly, then looked back at the road.

Oh, I see how it is, Miss 'I'm too cool to tap my fingers'. Sammy thought with a scowl on her face. Just ignore me like you can't really hear what I'm thinking.

Aria turned her face to look out the driver side window, as if she saw something fascinating, but Sammy could see the wide grin on her face.

If you don't do something to indicate you can hear me, I swear I'll start quoting every sexist joke I've ever heard. Sammy didn't even bother with the pretense of looking oblivious. She glared at Aria threateningly.

"All right, all right, I can hear you," Aria finally burst out laughing. "No sexist jokes though, please! I hear enough of them from our resident redneck population already."

"How?" Sammy asked, finally shedding her glare for a look of curiosity.

"TK," Aria said simply.

"TK?" Sammy repeated uncomprehendingly. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"That's all I'm going to say for now," Aria said with a stubborn lift of her chin. "I'll give you little hints over the next couple of days if you still haven't figured it out."

Sammy smiled at the anticipated challenge. Aria's sense of fun was a breath of fresh air. "Okay, you're on."

Sammy noticed the look of surprise on the lodge manager's face as they walked into the lobby. Apparently, they really didn't see Aria very often.

"Hey Sidney," Aria waved as they walked past the front desk toward the restaurant.

"Hi Aria," Sidney replied, his eyes glancing back and forth between her and Sammy curiously. "You guys here for dinner?"

"Guys?" Aria asked with a raised eyebrow. She looked around ostentatiously. "What guys?"

Sidney had the presence of mind to look embarrassed. "Sorry, I meant girls."

"Well in that case, yes," Aria answered with a friendly smile. "How're Lori and the little ones?"

"Sick of living in the middle of nowhere," Sidney replied, making a face. "I think my days here are numbered."

"Blasphemy," Aria admonished him sternly. "Talking about leaving paradise is tantamount to wishing for death."

"I want to stay," Sidney replied defensively. "It's just that I'm only one half of a greater whole."

"More like three quarters," Aria murmured quietly as they moved out of his hearing range.

"Are you calling him fat?" Sammy asked indignantly.

"Of course not," Aria denied, looking askance. "He's only chubby right now. He has at least another year before he joins the fat club."

"You think so?" Sammy asked, half-serious.

"I know so," Aria replied confidently. "Unless he makes a monumental change to his current diet."

"What makes you so certain?" Sammy asked curiously.

"TK," Aria replied with a smirk.

"Oh, another hint already, huh?" Sammy asked with a grin as the host walked over to meet them at the restaurant entrance.

"Why not?" Aria replied with a soft elbow nudge. The light touch was enough to make Sammy blush self-consciously.

"Just the two of you?" The host asked, glancing at the two of them with a look that was way too knowing.

"And the frog in my pocket," Aria replied impishly.

Sammy snickered at the puzzled look on the host's face. "You're incorrigible."

A sudden croaking sound from Aria's pocket almost had Sammy on the ground laughing as the woman jumped in surprise.

"We can't allow pets in the restaurant," she told Aria hesitantly.

"It's okay, she's housebroken," Aria nodded toward Sammy suggestively. "Most of the time, anyway."

"Well…if it ain't the skeleton crew," a voice announced from behind them.

Aria turned around and grinned at a large bearded man. "Hey Coleman, how's life."

"Good, now that both IT's are in one place," Coleman replied with a heavy redneck drawl. "We're gonna lock all the doors til all our demands'r met."

"Oh, is my boss here?" Aria asked, though she didn't look surprised.

"Him and Elaine just sat down over there," he nodded toward the far corner of the restaurant. "He's gonna pretend ta share a meal with his wife again. Are yew actually gonna eat anythin?"

"That depends," Aria replied with a grin. "Who's on the menu today? Anyone I know?"

"Just some overla-zealous bargain hunters as thought they could git a free meal if they whined 'bout the food an service enough," Coleman drawled in irritation. "Some people seem ta budget thar lives on how much they kin save by whinin 'bout everythin everywhere they go."

"Ah hear that," Aria replied in a good imitation of a redneck accent.

"Yew jist let me know what ya want, and I'll make it fer ya," Coleman told her as he walked through the swinging doors into the kitchen. "Even if'n it ain't on the menu."

"You're Aria?" the host asked uncertainly.

"For the remainder of the day, yes," Aria replied with a mischievous smile. "After we eat the brains of those whiny customers Coleman talked about, we might assume their personalities and take on their names."

The hostess gave a forced, obviously nervous laugh. She was definitely having trouble cataloging the small woman in her mind. She didn't mention anything about pets again as she led them to a table on the opposite side of the dining room from Elaine. Sammy noticed none of the other customers were seated in that area of the dining room either.

"So does being the IT Manager mean you get your own private dining area?" Sammy asked Aria dryly after the host left them with some menus.

"That's for Elaine's benefit," Aria replied with a fond smile. "She's even more of a recluse than I am, once she leaves work for the day. It's rare for them to eat here. My boss usually just orders take-out and brings the food to her."

"Why did Coleman call you the skeleton crew?" Sammy asked curiously.

"That's my bosses fault," Aria replied, rolling her eyes. "I actually never order anything here, so they can't accuse me of not eating. My boss always orders for one person when he and Elaine eat here, but nobody has ever caught him eating anything. They move the plates around so that it looks like they have been sharing, but nobody ever actually catches him in the act of taking a bite of something."

"Maybe he is a vampire," Sammy murmured wryly. As soon as she said it, he looked up from an iPhone he was playing with and stared at her for a moment. Sammy blinked as he looked back down at his phone with a small grin. Did I make a wrong turn and end up in the twilight zone?

"He's not a vampire," Aria told her with a half-smile. "He just has a shy stomach."

"Shy stomach?" Sammy repeated with a frown. "You mean like a shy bladder?"

"Exactly," Aria grinned. "He can't stand having people watch him eat. Elaine said he can barely eat in front of her at home."

"So do you know that by reading his mind?" Sammy asked, hoping Aria wouldn't dodge the question.

"Actually, I can't read his mind," Aria admitted with small frown. "It's like there is nothing there when I try to hear what he is thinking."

"Maybe there is a reason for that," Sammy noted with a suggestive waggling of her eyebrows. "After all, he does go around in this heat wearing turtlenecks. Maybe his brains were cooked."

"Maybe," Aria replied doubtfully. "I've never come across anyone else who I couldn't hear mentally."

"Don't you mean telepathically?" Sammy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope," Aria said with a smirk. "I'm not a telepath. It's all part of the TK. You just have to know what to look for."

"You say you are not a telepath, as if there is such a thing…" Sammy left the question hanging.

"That's because there is," Aria replied. She quieted down as a waiter approached their table.

"I'm Garret, and I'll be your server tonight," a guy with a short mohawk said loudly. Sammy glanced around, wondering if he were talking to someone else. Nope. He was just loud. He hadn't even looked up from a smart phone he was staring at.

"I thought you were the bartender?" Aria said with a faint smile.

"We had a no-show, so now I get to fill in," he replied, barely restraining a grimace.

"Don't worry, we'll take it easy on you, Garret," Aria assured him with a dimpled smile.

"Oh, hi Aria," he finally looked up from his phone and blinked in surprise. "Are you actually eating something here today?"

"Just spectating," Aria replied pleasantly. "Sammy's ready to order though."

Sammy rolled her eyes, wishing she knew how to block her thoughts from the little mind leech. "I'll take the veggie Navajo taco with no sides."

"Anything to drink?" Garret asked expectantly.

"Just water," Sammy replied with a sigh. "The other customers will drink more than enough for me."

"Okay…" Garret said slowly. He glanced at Aria with a raised eyebrow, but she just shrugged at his questioning gaze. "That'll be ready for you in twenty."

As he walked away, she heard him mutter, "I always get the crazy ones."

Sammy shared a look with Aria, and then busted up laughing. He had no idea just how crazy the two of them were. She could already feel a light buzz starting to affect her from some of the heavier drinkers in the bar.

Elaine and her husband were walking past them on their way to the exit. Sammy suddenly grinned and waved to Aria's boss. "Hey, does TK mean anything to you?"

"Is TK a what or a who?" He asked as the two of them stopped at her table.

"I think it's a what," Sammy replied with a small frown. "I don't see how it could be a who in this case."

"If it is a what, it might be short for telekinesis," he suggested. "Or maybe Tofu King, Toe King, Tough Klingon, Tubby Knight, Toosh Killer, Too Klutzy…"

He broke off at a warning nudge from Elaine.

"Why did you stop him already?" Aria asked with a grin. "It was just getting good."

"Trust me, you don't want him to continue in a public setting like this," Elaine murmured quietly. "He lacks the kind of filters that most people in civilized society acquire over time."

"So what is a Toe King?" Sammy asked when her curiosity finally got the best of her.

"Have you ever met a person with a toe fetish?" he asked with a straight face. "Take that to royalty status, and you have a Toe King. They like to find large pyramids and tombs to put their…"

He broke off at another touch from Elaine. "Well…you get the idea."

Before he could continue, Elaine started tugging him toward the exit.

"Thanks for the info!" Sammy called to his retreating back with a grin.

"So you think I'm the Toe King?" Aria asked with an amused grin.

"Telekinesis," Sammy said with a triumphant grin. "Well…am I right?"

Instead of replying, the saltshaker moved across the table as if it had a mind of its own.

_**oooooo**_

Sammy restrained herself from looking under the table, knowing this was not a trick. Unless there was a way to magnetize glass, Aria had just moved the saltshaker with her mind.

"Okay…" Sammy finally said after staring at the saltshaker with a frown for several seconds. "You are telekinetic. How are you able to hear my thoughts? And how would you just _know_ Sidney is going to join the 'fat club'." Sammy finished with her own finger quotes on the word 'fat club'.

"Perhaps I can better help answer that question if you tell me what you think TK is," Aria replied, leaning back and folding her arms under her breasts.

"That's easy," Sammy said with a shrug. "It's just moving things with your mind."

"There is quite a bit more to it than that," Aria told her, taking a deep breath. "First of all, how do I sense what I am going to pick up, or use the correct amount of pressure to keep from crushing it, or sense where I want to move it to?"

"I suppose you just have to eyeball it," Sammy replied, drawing her brows down in thought. "Kind of like trying to get a basketball in the hoop."

"If this were that imprecise, things would get really messy," Aria said with a wry smile. "No, TK is not just a force I push out with. It is an entire sixth sense that I can feel the world around me with, all the way down to subatomic particles. Learning to understand what people were thinking took a lot of practice. I can feel the flow of neurons in your brain, and when your mind is converting initial thoughts into verbal speech, there is an algorithm I can decode. Scientists are already figuring out how to decode the signals in the audio and visual cortexes using brain scanners."

"So you're saying that isn't telepathy?" Sammy asked doubtfully.

"Telepaths can hear and see your actual thoughts and memories before they are converted into analog signals," Aria explained. "I'm starting to understand how to do that using TK, but I have a long way to go before I can snoop around in people's memories like a telepath."

"Who are these Telepaths you're referring to?" Sammy asked with an uncomfortable glance around the dining room. The thought of random strangers rummaging through her memories had her wondering about the utility of tinfoil hats. "Do any live here?"

"No, I don't think so," Aria replied with a knowing grin. "Just an Empath who tends to absorb other people's emotions."

Sammy blinked as Aria stared at her pointedly. "Me?"

"Unless you have a frog in your pocket that you think I am referring to," Aria said sardonically. "Of course you!"

"My mom said I'm just an extremely sensitive…" Sammy trailed off as Aria started shaking with laughter. "What?"

"Extremely sensitive?" Aria gasped when she recovered. "I'm pretty sure your mom misunderstands that term. If everyone who was extremely sensitive absorbed other people's emotions the way you do, this world would be even more dysfunctional than it already is."

"Why do you say that?" Sammy asked, feeling slightly hurt at the comment.

"You've still never been around any hard drug users," Aria told her seriously, all levity gone. "Empaths get addicted to being around heroin addicts and other hard drug users. They don't suffer the same withdrawal effects as the drug users, but that actually causes even more trouble because they never come down off their highs. They just wander around slums looking for addicts to feed on, never living any kind of productive life. They become slaves to their gift of empathy and lose any ability to experience a normal life."

Sammy felt sick at the thought. For the first time in her life, she was grateful for growing up in Utah. "How do I avoid that kind of problem?"

"You have to learn to shield yourself from other people's emotions," Aria replied. "I can teach you."

"Is that why I cannot feel anything from you?" Sammy asked curiously. "Are you shielding your emotions from me?"

Aria nodded with a small smile. "My emotions are much stronger than other humans', as a result of my physiology. I tend to project my emotions on others if I'm not careful."

"So tell me about your physiology," Sammy prompted, then blushed as she heard what she had said. "Within reason, of course."

Aria's loud, silvery laughter drew the attention of some of the customers several tables over. "I've only known you for a week, and you already want to explore my…"

"Stop that!" Sammy interrupted, her ears burning like a blast furnace. "You know what I mean."

"Okay, fine," Aria sighed, still chuckling. "I'm not made of flesh and bone, like the rest of you meat sacks. I'm more of an energy being, with just enough mass to pass as human."

"Huh?" Sammy asked with a frown. That was not what she expected. "Does that mean you can't…" Sammy broke off again, her face shaming a sunset as she looked down at the table and started furiously twisting her napkin into a tight wad.

"Oh my God, you're killing me!" Aria gasped. She clung to the table to stay upright as she shook with laughter. "I've never seen somebody blush so much!"

Sammy was glad she absorbed people's emotions, instead of projecting them, or everyone in the room would have died of mortification. She tried to say something, but her throat had tightened up and she couldn't get any words out. _I am the world's biggest genius! I mean really, you can't have sex?_

When Aria started sliding under the table from laughing so much, Sammy let out a gasp as she remembered the other woman could hear her thoughts. She dropped her head into her folded arms on the table, willing herself to vanish. This couldn't possibly get any more embarrassing.

"Earth to Sammy," Aria's grinning voice called to her almost a minute later. "Are you in there somewhere?"

"No," Sammy replied into the tabletop, her arms still hiding her face.

"Well, the answer to your question is yes, I can still have sex," Aria told her, the sound of a grin still apparent in her voice. "While I don't require food or water, I can still emulate any of the body parts a normal person has. I still have the same form of consciousness that other people possess. If I focus on how human skin feels I experience the same sensations of touch that anyone else does. Of course, with an Empath like you, and a Projector like me, things would get downright explosive for you."

Sammy was glad that she had not raised her head from its hiding place. A new flush filled her body, with warmth spreading to all kinds of embarrassing places. _I'm going to need a cold shower really soon._

"How do you know about other Telepaths and Empaths?" Sammy muttered into the table, hoping to change the subject.

"I've travelled the world quite a bit," Aria replied. "One of the most amazing things I discovered how to do with TK, is create Gateways to anywhere."

"Gateways?" Sammy asked, finally bringing her head up to stare into the other woman's sunglasses with a raised eyebrow. "Like Rand al Thor style Gateways?"

"Totally different methodology, but the same end result," Aria answered with a smile. "Apparently you and I share a similar interest in fictional novels."

"I was hooked on the Wheel of Time for years," Sammy admitted with a grin. "I re-read the whole series every time a new book was released. I'm still not sure what happened during the middle of that series. I mean, attention to detail is great in a novel, but really, it can go too far."

"That was right around the time Robert Jordan discovered he had a terminal illness," Aria said, her smile fading. "I never met him, but I have a feeling that he was trying to immerse himself into his fictional world to escape the unpleasant realities of this world. I wish he would have lived just a couple of years longer."

"Why a couple of years?" Sammy asked.

"I could have healed him now," Aria replied solemnly. "I didn't know enough about healing at the time. I was too busy trying to figure out how to imitate all of the other superheroes' powers; I didn't even think of learning how to heal people with TK until after I learned of his death. Nynaeve was my inspiration to learn how to heal."

"So can you heal people with _any_ disease now?" Sammy asked, her eyes widening in wonder.

"Anything but death, so far," Aria confirmed.

"Do you ever heal people at hospitals?" Sammy asked curiously.

"There is a reason there are so many stories about cancer patients miraculously recovering," Aria said with a sad smile. "I don't actually require sleep, so I spend a few hours each night visiting cancer wards around the world. It's kind of disheartening, because I barely even make the difference of a drop in a bucket. Our modern lifestyle is so poisoning that there are so many people now with terminal conditions."

Sammy stared at the woman in front of her, feeling a sense of awe steadily building. She was in the presence of more than a saint; she was in the presence of some kind of goddess.

"Stop looking at me like that," Aria complained. "I'm not doing anything you wouldn't do in my place."

Sammy shook her head slowly. "Yes you are. I probably would have spent my time hunting rapists and murders, like all of the popular superheroes do."

"I said I only spend a couple hours a night visiting terminal patients," Aria replied with a mischievous smile. "I still spend a good amount of time 'hunting' villains." Her fingers made the traditional quotes for 'hunting'.

"So are we mutants?" Sammy asked suddenly. "Like X-men?"

"I always wondered who came up with that name," Aria said with a short laugh. "If a person is an X-man, does it make them a woman?"

"I guess I never thought of it like that before," Sammy replied with a grin of her own.

"To answer your question, yes, we are mutants," Aria continued, leaning forward to rest her arms on the table. "Sometimes it's funny how enemies will unknowingly work together towards a common cause. In this case, when the government discovered mutations occurring in the human population a half-century ago, they started a massive disinformation campaign. They founded the comic book company, Marvel, to create fictional characters with superpowers. The idea was to make people ignore any real occurrences in the world that resulted from actual mutants by ridiculing anyone who suggested a supernatural cause, and claiming they were just hoaxers imitating the comics. At the same time, a secret society of mutants were _also_ creating disinformation about the mutant phenomenon, hoping to keep the government from noticing the growing mutant population. A secret war has been waged for decades, as the government tries to use mutants for experimentation, and mutants form terrorist networks around the world to try to retaliate. Most of the terrorist attacks that occur are _not_ the result of Muslim extremists."

"The World Trade Centers…" Sammy gasped.

"Magneto," Aria confirmed with a nod.

"Oh. My. God." Sammy sat stunned as the world she thought she knew did a one-eighty.

**_oooooo_**

Sammy remained silent as Garret brought out her veggie Navajo taco. As soon as he left, Sammy focused on Aria again, ignoring her food.

"First of all, how is any of this possible?" Sammy asked, her voice filled with bafflement. "I know the comics and movies talk about jumps in evolution every couple of millennia, but unless everything I've learned about science is incorrect, there is no way evolution is producing the kind of mutations portrayed in the comics."

"I'll explain while you eat," Aria told her, gesturing at her plate.

Sammy nodded, feeling suddenly self-conscious as the small woman watched her start cutting up her food.

"There are a couple of possibilities as I see it," Aria began after a short pause. "The first possibility is that the science taught in schools is purged of what most people in this world refer to as 'paranormal phenomena'. They purposefully ridicule and run smear campaigns against people who investigate paranormal subjects in order to keep the public from discovering the truth about mutations and the true nature of reality. It's quite possible that Einstein actually _did_ complete a fully qualified unifying field theory, but it was probably covered up when mutations were discovered shortly thereafter. As more people began rejecting the standard atomic model to describe how the forces in our reality function, branches of science like quantum mechanics were developed to continue leading people down the wrong path."

"Interesting," Sammy said between mouthfuls. "So what are the other possibilities?"

"The one that I find most likely is that we exist in a kind of computer simulation," Aria replied with a wry smile. "Thirty-five years ago we were making two dimensional digital worlds on Nintendo to entertain ourselves. Twenty years ago, we were making three-dimensional games that began mimicking our world with far more detail. Presently, we are making games with enough detail to almost pass as authentic video footage, with AI subroutines complex enough to fool a player into thinking they are competing with a real person. Can you imagine where we will be in fifty years, when we figure out how to create fully self-aware characters who think they are as real as we are? A hundred years? If we are so close to making artificial worlds with less than fifty years of computer technology under our belts, what is the likelihood that _we_ reside inside of such a program? It would explain how acts that defy physics can occur, since the laws of physics would be dictated by the code in the program. If a programmer were to decide that certain physical laws no longer applied to one individual, that person would no longer be bound by conventional physics. It would explain how an entire population of humans could suddenly begin developing completely unrelated abilities, such as telepathy, telekinesis, metamorphism, teleportation, and thousands of other impossibilities."

"Okay," Sammy said around a mouthful. "I kind of like that one. What else?"

"Another possibility is that I am in a coma, and you are all hallucinations," Aria said with a smirk. "And let me tell you, my imagination has _good_ taste."

Sammy choked on her food, her face turning red. After a coughing fit and several sips of water, she looked up balefully at Aria. "You are a shameless tease, is what you are."

"Ah hear that," Aria replied in a redneck drawl.

"That's the second time I've heard you say that," Sammy said with a raised eyebrow. "Is that a common saying in redneck culture?"

"Are you telling me you've never seen the movie, Paul?" Aria asked in surprise.

"Never," Sammy replied, scooping another bite into her mouth.

"Screw Ghostbusters," Aria declared firmly. "We're watching Paul tonight."

"Wait a minute," Sammy paused in mid-bite. "The Gatekeeper. You make Gateways. Is that why you freaked out when I asked if you were the Gatekeeper?"

"Busted," Aria answered with a sheepish grin. "I knew you were an Empath the first time I met you, but I was afraid you might have somehow concealed being a Telepath as well."

"So where are all of these other mutants hiding?" Sammy asked curiously. "Are there any other mutants working here at the resort?"

"Most of them are hiding out in third world countries," Aria replied with a sad sigh. "Developed nations hunt mutants more enthusiastically than they do rabid serial killers. There are a lot of techno-gizmos capable of detecting mutants in most countries. As far as other mutants living here at the resort, there is only one. She just arrived yesterday, so you should see her in Orientation tomorrow."

"What's her name?" Aria asked. "And what can she do?"

"Her name is Daphne, and she is a Lightning Goddess," Aria replied, smiling slightly.

"I'm sure this is a stupid question," Sammy said with a deep breath. "What, exactly, does a Lightning Goddess do?"

"She generates high voltage electromagnetic pulses when she gets excited," Aria answered with a pained sigh. "She is the most un-technological teenager of our century, because she fries any computer equipment she gets near. I'm going to have a hell of a time keeping our network equipment safe from her."

"Can't you just shield it using your TK?" Sammy asked.

"Yes, but now I have to go to every building she might visit and wrap all of the wiring and equipment with a static force field," Aria replied plaintively. "I'll actually have to work."

"So you don't usually work?" Sammy asked playfully.

"Well…yes," Aria responded in a slightly exasperated voice. "But usually if I have to go to the site to fix a problem it is just running a new cable, or replacing a piece of equipment, or rebooting something. With TK, I can do all of those things in seconds. It's rare that I can't fix an issue remotely from my computer in the first place. To shield everything, I'll have to visit every single location."

"What do you suppose your boss would do if you weren't here to protect everything before she gets a chance to fry it?" Sammy asked with a malicious grin.

"He would be pulling his hair out in frustration," Aria giggled. "We already have everything heavily protected with battery backups and voltage regulators, because the resort has to generate its own power. He would probably start blaming it on solar flares or something like that."

"Do you think she knows that she's a technology bane?" Sammy wondered.

"She's starting to believe it," Aria answered thoughtfully. "She's been noticing the patterns in the way electronics stop working every time she gets excited about something. From what little I could glean in her memories, her mom jokes around about her being cursed with technology as well."

"I thought you couldn't see memories," Sammy muttered suspiciously.

"I said I'm not good at it yet," Aria corrected with a flash of her dimples. "Some people are easier to read than others though."

"Can you see my memories?" Sammy asked hesitantly.

Aria stared at her quietly for almost a minute before answering. "A little bit. I think with time, and more familiarity with how your mind works, I could become more fluent at reading your memories."

Sammy let out a resigned sigh. "I don't suppose there's any validity to the theory that tinfoil hats protect your mind?"

"To the contrary," Aria replied with a laugh. "They act as an amplifier, making it even easier to get into your mind."

"So is my being a mutant the reason that you took an interest in me?" Sammy asked curiously. "Everyone I've talked to said that you never spend any personal time with other people."

"That's what brought you to my attention," Aria replied carefully. "However, it wasn't until I did a little bit of background research on you that I decided to spend some time with you."

"You've been cyber-stalking me?" Sammy asked in surprise.

"I needed to make sure you weren't a government plant for locating other mutants," Aria explained, taking a deep breath that she probably didn't need. "I had to check out your past and verify you really were who you appeared to be."

"So what made you want to spend time with me after discovering I wasn't a spy?" Sammy asked softly, looking down at the table.

"Aside from the fact that you are pleasant on the eyes, you mean?" Aria asked sensuously.

"Tease…" Sammy muttered as her face turned red. She couldn't stop a pleased smile from spreading across her face.

"Well, I'll admit I was really drawn to your personality too," Aria told her in a more serious tone. "It's rare to meet people who are truly good inside. You are a rare person, Sammy."

Sammy's blush deepened. She really like the way her name sounded on Aria's lips. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," Aria said with a gentle smile. "Most people are always looking for a way to take advantage of the people they deal with on a daily basis. Even nice people have a tendency to look for markers in the acts of kindness they perform for others. From what I've seen, you spend a lot of time doing nice things for others with zero expectation of something in return."

"So are you going to make friends with Daphne too?" Sammy asked in embarrassment.

"Fine, I'll stop putting you in the spotlight," Aria giggled cutely. "I was going to let you make the initial contact with Daphne. I've been toying with the idea of starting up a school to teach mutants how to control their powers and stay off the government's radar. Daphne is definitely going to need to learn how to shield her gift if she doesn't want to end up in a government lab."

"Are there really prisons full of mutants out there?" Sammy asked sadly.

"Yes," Aria replied with a hint of steel in her voice. "I've been searching for them for a little over a year now. I am no longer content to just avoid capture. I've reached a stage in my development that it is time to make a stand."

"What are you going to do if you find one of their prisons?" Sammy asked worriedly. The small woman was obviously very powerful, but she _looked_ so innocent and helpless that it was painful to think of Aria putting herself in so much danger.

"Rescue the mutants and destroy the facility, of course," Aria replied as if it should be obvious.

"Where would you put everyone that you rescued?" Sammy asked weakly. "Do they even have homes to go back to?"

"I've been using my TK to build a fairly large structure about five miles underground," Aria informed her solemnly. "No single room is in the same geographic region. Everything is connected by Gateways so seamlessly that it appears to be a single structure, but if it were ever compromised, all of the Gateways that connect the rooms and hallways to each other would vanish. There is room for thousands of residents. I'll have to give you the tour later, but it is by far the safest place for mutant refugees to hide. As for their families…" Aria hesitated as a small grimace crossed her face. "Most of their parents believe they are dead, or in special institutions to deal with mental illnesses. I'll invite their parents to either move into the school residential quarter, or create a static Gateway in their homes to commute back and forth."

"Wow," Sammy murmured quietly, trying to reconcile the fact that she was in the presence of a demigod. "What if their parents just want their kids back home and don't want anything to do with your school?"

"That's their choice," Aria admitted with a determined set to her jaw. "But I'll continue monitoring their children, and if an abduction by the government is attempted again, I won't hesitate to relocate their child to the school without any further contact with the parents."

"Now I'm excited to see your school," Sammy declared eagerly. "Did you just tunnel the whole place out using your TK?"

"You'll see," Aria replied with a mysterious smile.

"If Magneto is a real character, does that mean Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, and all of the others are real characters as well?" Sammy asked skeptically.

"Oh yes, they are definitely real," Aria replied with a roll of her eyes. "They're just as silly in real life as they are in the stories."

"You've met them?" Sammy asked in fascination.

"Observed would be more accurate," Aria replied dryly. "I can use Gateways to scrye as well as travel."

"And they live in a mansion in New York?" Sammy asked incredulously.

"No, that part is fiction," Aria replied. "They live in a private wildlife preserve outside of Phoenix."

"Ororo, Jean, and Emma must be old by now…" Sammy noted vaguely.

"Most mutants don't age like normal humans," Aria informed her with a knowing grin. "Your favorite heroines still look like they are in their early thirties."

Sammy picked up a piece of lettuce and flipped it at Aria spitefully. The effect was ruined when the piece of lettuce stopped in mid-air right in front of her. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to eavesdrop?"

"I ain't been dropping under no eaves," Aria declared impudently.

"Can I get a box for the rest of this to go?" Sammy asked Garret as he walked passed them.

"Sure thing," he boomed, his face still glued to his phone.

"Finished eating already, huh?" Aria asked with a concerned frown. "You didn't even finish half of it."

"It's freaking huge," Sammy replied in exasperation. "And I ain't joining no 'fat club'. I'll finish the rest later. Besides, I doubt you keep any food in the house, considering your lack of dietary needs."

"Too right you are," Aria admitted with a grin. "Let's go unpack your stuff and then go to Whole Foods."

"Where is the closest Whole Foods?" Sammy asked with a grimace. The closest generic grocery store was three hours away. Finding a store with Vegan products was probably five or more hours away.

"It's only a hop, skip, and Gateway away," Aria replied with a dimpled smile.

_Damn those dimples are cute._

"Why thank you," Aria's grin widened.

_**oooooo**_

"I've got this," Aria told Sammy when Garret brought them the check.

"Nonsense, you didn't even eat," Sammy objected. She tried to hand her credit card to Garret, but Aria snatched it out of her hand before he could take it, then handed him her own card.

"Don't be an ungrateful date and refuse to let me pay," Aria told her firmly.

"Garret, don't accept her money," Sammy appealed to their server.

"I make it a point to never get involved in the squabbles on who gets to pay for the check," Garret told them, backing away slightly with his hands in the air.

"If you want Micros to continue functioning through the dinner hour, you'll take _my_ credit card," Aria told Garret insistently.

"And sold," Garret declared, snatching the card out of Aria's hand. He looked at Sammy apologetically. "Sorry, but there is no way I'm going to risk losing our computer system during the dinner rush."

Sammy turned to glare at Aria, but the smaller woman's grin was too infectious; Sammy found herself grinning ruefully as she shook her head. "You definitely don't play fair."

"Let that be a lesson to you about life," Aria grinned triumphantly. "Playing fair only works when you don't mind losing."

Sammy shook her head but didn't say anything else. Aria obviously had a healthy competitive streak.

As they drove back to the apartment, Sammy noticed that Aria was no longer making a pretense at using her hands and feet to drive. She was sitting cross-legged in the driver seat, with her back against the door. Her eyes were focused on Sammy while the car appeared to be driving itself. Sammy couldn't take her eyes off the road, even though she knew Aria didn't need to watch it to sense where she was going.

"Do you mind if I see your phone for a minute?" Aria asked Sammy politely.

"Sure," Sammy replied in surprise, pulling out her iPhone. "What for?"

"You're going to meet Daphne tomorrow," Aria explained as the phone floated up out of her hands to hover in front of the small woman. "This won't be good for anything but a paperweight if I don't shield it before you meet her."

"Oh yeah," Sammy smiled slightly. "Our little lightning goddess."

**_oooooo_**

Daphne looked around the room for any electronic equipment nervously as she sat down at one of the long, narrow tables in the training room. There was a laptop connected to a projector at the very front of the rectangular room. She had chosen a seat on the back row to be as far away from the laptop as possible. It was getting more difficult every year to find jobs that didn't have any sensitive electronic equipment in her work area. Usually, resorts in the hinterlands had less computer technology than jobs in the city. It was quickly becoming obvious that this resort had managed to modernize their operation in spite of being three hours from the nearest city.

The other new employees at the dorms had figured out quickly that their devices malfunctioned near her. She sighed as she cursed the twenty-first century for the millionth time. _Why couldn't I have been born a century ago? Then I might have a friend or two who wasn't terrified of being around me for fear of breaking their stupid connection to facebook._

Daphne listened attentively to the HR Manager and Trainer as they presented the Orientation and on-boarding material for the resort. The four hours until lunch went by painfully slow as they were shown all of the safety guidelines and company policies for the small resort.

It wasn't until shortly after the lunch break that they introduced the Rec Coordinator. She had a beautiful dark-skinned mulatto complexion and finely sculpted features that caused an immediate spike in Daphne's heart rate. _Crap! There go the electronics…_

Daphne watched in surprise as the projector and laptop continued functioning properly after her heart rate slowed down. That was odd; she was only twenty-feet away from the laptop. Usually a hormone-related elevated heart rate was enough of an energy release to fry anything within fifty-feet of her. She knew some kind of energy release had taken place, because several of the kids who had been playing with their smart phones were now smacking them irritably and casting her suspicious looks.

"This is Sammy," Elaine introduced the Rec Coordinator. "She's the person who organizes all of the trips to town every week, along with all of the recreational activities."

Daphne almost raised her eyebrows in surprise at the look of familiarity Sammy gave her as she surveyed the new employees, as if she knew her. She was sure she had never met Sammy before; she would never have forgotten a face that pretty.

Sammy held her captivated for the next five minutes as she described some of the recreational activities planned for the next two months. The dark-haired woman had a low alto voice that was almost hypnotic to listen to. She would probably make a great ASMR artist.

Daphne felt a moment of panic when Elaine announced that Sammy would be helping them complete their I9 forms on some computers in the next room. She would have already had a hard time remaining calm enough to use a computer without frying it on her own. Having a beautiful woman standing next to her was going to be a disaster.

As she sat trying to think of an excuse to avoid going near the computer, Sammy walked over to her with an engaging smile on her striking face.

"Let's start with the back of the room, then work our way forward," Sammy suggested, beckoning Daphne to follow her.

Daphne nervously arose from her seat and followed Sammy into the adjoining room apprehensively. The other woman glanced at her in concern as she noticed how nervous she was.

"It's okay," Sammy assured her quietly. "It's a really simple process. I'll make sure you don't have any problem using the computers."

Daphne blinked uncertainly as she sat down at one of the computers. Had Sammy somehow heard about her problems with technology from the other employees, or was she just referring to common computer use?

Daphne hesitantly reached out to put her hand on the mouse, waiting for the monitor to flicker off at her touch. When nothing happened, she glanced up at Sammy questioningly.

"Just fill out all of the text fields on this page and click submit on the bottom," Sammy instructed her softly as she leaned over her shoulder from behind to point at the screen.

The other woman's proximity caused an immediate spike in energy as heat flooded her skin. Daphne watched in shock as the computers all remained functional. How was this possible? She had never seen a computer that didn't get cooked in her presence, no matter how well it was shielded from RF energy.

"Just let me know if you have any questions," Sammy told her with another warm smile.

Daphne finally shook herself and started filling out the form. _I better finish this before whatever strange power protecting these machines wears off._

**_oooooo_**

Sammy focused most of her attention on Daphne as she led two other employees into the room to the computers next to the lightning goddess. She smiled to herself at the look of disbelief on Daphne's face as the computer continued working for her. She could tell by the disgruntled reactions of the other employees as their cell phones crashed that Daphne was still giving off electromagnetic discharges. Whatever Aria had done to shield the network equipment and computers seemed to be working so far.

Daphne was almost six-feet tall, with an athletic build and shoulder length chestnut hair. She had a heart-shaped face with rosebud lips that looked like they were shaped just right for kissing. Her dark-brown eyes sparkled with life. Sammy shook her head ruefully at how she managed to be surrounding herself with beautiful women.

"All done?" Sammy asked brightly as Daphne stood up and stepped quickly away from the computer.

Daphne nodded hesitantly, with a puzzled look at the computer. She pulled out a small notepad and pencil and wrote for a moment, then held the paper up for Sammy to read. "I don't suppose you know what kind of surge suppression system is used for the computers here?"

Sammy stared at paper for a moment as her thoughts whirled in confusion. _Aria never mentioned that Daphne was mute! How could she forget a detail like that?_

"Something very robust," Sammy finally replied with a knowing smile. "Our IT has everything shielded to keep any kind of transient radiation from affecting our systems."

Daphne nodded with a thoughtful expression. She scribbled some more words on the notepad. "Could I get the contact information for your IT? I would really like to find out the kind of equipment he uses to keep everything protected from surges."

"He's a she, actually," Sammy informed her with a grin. "I'll make sure that you get a chance to meet Aria in the next day or two."

"That would be really awesome," Daphne wrote enthusiastically. "I'll be working at the boat rental docks if you need to get a hold of me during the day. Otherwise, I'll be in dorm room 104."

"How about I just text you?" Sammy suggested, handing Daphne a new iPhone Aria had picked up during their shopping expedition the previous night. "I just got a new phone and was going to toss this old one. It's prepaid and still has several hours of talk time left on it."

"I can't take that!" Daphne scribbled quickly, and then backed away apprehensively.

"Oh yes you can," Sammy told her firmly, reaching out and placing it firmly into Daphne's hand. "It was just going to the trash anyway, so it's no loss for me."

"It looks brand new," Daphne wrote with a doubtful expression. "I'm horribly accident prone, so I'll probably break it in the first day."

"This is just as tough as the computers you just used," Sammy assured her with another knowing smile. "I'll call you later and set up a time to meet you with Aria."

Daphne paused, looking at her oddly. "Why would it be just as tough as the computers?"

"Because I had Aria upgrade the shielding on it," Sammy told her with a shrug. "We're on old diesel generator power here at the resort, so we get a lot of power surges. If we don't shield everything, it tends to get fried the first time it gets plugged in."

Daphne nodded slowly, her face thoughtful. She wrote into the notepad quickly. "Okay, thanks. I'm going to find a way to pay you back though."

"You just help me out with some of the rec activities and we'll call it even," Sammy told her with a smile.

Daphne nodded, with a shy grin spreading across her face.

**_oooooo_**

"So how'd it go?" Aria asked Sammy with twinkle in her lavender eyes.

The two of them were sitting in the music room listening to some of Aria's compositions. Sammy couldn't believe Aria wasn't publishing her music through a record label. The symphonic rock she produced was powerful in a way that Sammy had never experienced in music before. Evanescence was the only band that even came close to matching the kind of power and focus that Aria's music instilled. There was a poignancy to many of her songs that reached deep down into her soul to a primal nerve.

If the instrumental music was amazing, then Aria's vocals were transcendental. Sammy had never heard music that made her feel both sad and uplifted at the same time. It was a life-changing experience.

"Daphne was very shocked to find all of the computers still working at the end of the day," Sammy replied with a small laugh. "She was so paranoid when I gave her the iPhone. It was almost comical to see how hesitant she was after I gave it to her. Why didn't you tell me she was mute?"

"She's mute?" Aria asked in amazement.

"The only way she communicated was by writing in a notepad," Sammy replied with a nod. "I'm assuming that means she can't speak."

"I'll have to look into that," Aria said with a frown.

"I thought you had met her…" Sammy said slowly. "Wouldn't you have noticed something like that with your TK?"

"I just did a quick thought scan when I passed her at the fee gates," Aria replied. "Everything else I learned about her from background checks."

"Do you think you can heal her?"

"Probably," Aria replied with a thoughtful frown. "As long as it isn't part of her mutation, anyway."

"You mean like not having vocal chords?" Sammy asked.

"Something like that," Aria said vaguely.

"She seemed a bit lonely," Sammy noted.

"I'm glad she's here," Aria said with sad smile. "I did a little more digging on her background today, and even visited her parent's house. Apparently, she's been a loner for the last five years as a result of her ability. Everyone she makes friends with starts avoiding her when they figure out that she is the one that causes all of their electronics to break. Nobody would have noticed her gift a century ago, but in our technological age, she is like a lightning rod in a thunderstorm. She's learned enough about her ability to avoid hospitals and older people who might have pacemakers."

"I didn't even think about pacemakers," Sammy admitted with a frown. "I suppose that could get really scary."

Sammy groaned as her cell phone began ringing. She was supposed to have the rest of the night off. With a sigh, she pulled out her iPhone.

"Sammy speaking," Sammy answered shortly.

"Hi Sammy, this is Josh," the male voice said nervously. "I know this is short notice, but we had a family emergency and won't be able to do that show down in Bullfrog tomorrow. I'm really sorry."

"Really?" Sammy replied, her heart sinking. "I don't suppose you have a backup band that can come down and play for you?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Josh replied regretfully.

"Okay…" Sammy sighed heavily. "I'll figure something out."

"Good luck," Josh said contritely. "I'm sorry for the last minute notice."

"Don't worry about it," Sammy replied, ending the call.

"Trouble?" Aria asked sympathetically.

"The band that was supposed to come and play tomorrow night at the rec center isn't going to make it," Sammy replied with another sigh. "I'll need to figure something else out quickly. Any ideas?"

"Movie night?" Aria suggested. "Take the projector out on the lawn and show the new X-men movie…"

"Already doing a movie night three times this week," Sammy shook her head. A moment later, her eyes lit up with an idea. "So…what have you got planned tomorrow night?"

"Not a snowball's chance in hell," Aria said flatly.

"Oh, come _on_!" Sammy pleaded desperately. "You make the coolest music I've ever heard, and you're hiding it under a bushel! The people deserve to hear it."

"Waxing biblical on me isn't going to help your cause," Aria replied dryly. "It isn't going to happen, so you might as well forget it."

"Please…" Sammy begged, her eyes filled with hope. "I'll never ask for anything ever again. Just do this one thing for me, and I'll be your slave for life."

"I'm not looking, so those puppy dog eyes aren't going to work on me," Aria told her, staring the other way.

"Why not?" Sammy asked plaintively.

"I don't do well in front of crowds," Aria admitted quietly.

"I'll put a paper bag over your head, so you won't even have to see anyone," Sammy told her with a grin. "Seriously though, it will be good for you. If you really are planning on starting a school, you need to get used to having a lot of people watching you. Come on…don't make it weird."

"There goes your Christmas present," Aria told her with a helpless laugh.

"You are _the_ best!" Sammy crowed, jumping up and pulling Aria into a hug.

_**oooooo**_

Sammy had to keep reminding herself that she didn't need to keep an eye out for other night owls as Aria put the stage together with her TK. If anyone came close enough to notice the gravity-defying objects floating around in the dark, the little woman would sense them with her mind long before Sammy saw them.

It was better than going to a magic show, watching Aria levitate all of the lumber into place and fasten it together with nails that appeared to push themselves silently into the wood. It took less than five minutes for Aria to put the entire stage together. Sammy continued watching in bemusement as Aria's musical instruments and sound equipment floated out of a Gateway from her music room, neatly arranging themselves on the stage. Sammy laughed softly as Aria made the instruments do a small dance with each other before setting them down on the stage. The audio cables looked like snakes as they uncoiled and inserted themselves in the audio jacks on the sound mixers and speakers.

"I think you just set a new record for the fastest stage setup in history," Sammy noted in awe when Aria turned away from her work. "I think that has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life."

"Just remember, you promised to find some other musicians to play as well," Aria told her sternly.

"I'm sure some of the other seasonal employees are musicians," Sammy assured her confidently. "This will actually make it even more fun for everyone, since they'll get to participate as well."

"You better get some sleep," Aria told her with a sigh. "You're going to have a big day tomorrow."

As she finished speaking, another Gateway opened up into the living room at the apartment in front of Sammy.

"Good night, lerp," Aria said fondly.

"G 'night, midget," Sammy grinned, stepping through the Gateway.

**_oooooo_**

Daphne stared out her dorm window with wide eyes as she tried to decide if she was really awake. She watched in shock as Sammy stood in the field by the rec center next to a small blonde woman as a wooden stage magically put itself together. She couldn't help remembering the cartoon, A Sword In The Stone, as she watched the musical instruments dance around on the stage after floating out of a hole in the air. It was too dark at 2am to see much detail, but she was sure a hole in reality had just opened up into some kind of house in front of Sammy. A moment later, Sammy walked into the square hole and vanished.

The small blonde glanced over in her direction for a moment. There was no way the blonde could have seen her behind the darkened window, but Daphne had a feeling she had been noticed. The blonde followed Sammy through the hole in the air, and a moment later, it faded out of sight like a mirage.

Daphne climbed back into bed and lay awake for almost an hour as she tried to decide if she had just hallucinated the whole incident. By the time she awoke the next morning, she had nearly convinced herself the whole thing had been a dream. Her conviction only lasted until she looked out the window and found a fully constructed stage with instruments gleaming in the morning light.

**_oooooo_**

Aria stared into Daphne's unseeing eyes for several seconds before walking through the Gateway to her apartment. The tall girl was even more biologically different from other humans than she had first thought. Healing a mute that didn't even have lungs was going to be more difficult than she anticipated, if not impossible. While she knew there were other mutants like herself, who could best be described as energy beings, it was interesting to see such an even mix of the two physical states in one person.

"So why is she mute?" Sammy asked curiously, snapping Aria out of her reverie.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" Aria asked pointedly.

"You'll have to sate my curiosity before I can sleep," Sammy replied airily. "So? What's wrong with her?"

"She doesn't have any lungs," Aria finally replied slowly. "It's hard to make sound without air."

"_What?_" Sammy gasped in amazement. "How is she even alive?"

"She is a bit of a mystery," Aria admitted with thoughtful expression. "She has an additional group of cells in her body that convert energy into mass."

"You mean like E equals MC squared in reverse?" Sammy asked with a puzzled crease to her brow. "How is that going to deliver the necessary oxygen to her blood?"

"The cells are actually a kind of antenna that receives energy from radio waves," Aria explained. "The Earth's electromagnetic field broadcasts at ten hertz, providing all of the radio waves her specialized cells need to convert the radio energy into mass. The fluid running in her veins isn't technically blood. It provides all of the equivalent nutrients that her hybrid body requires to subsist in our environment."

"I thought the planet's electromagnetic field was really weak," Sammy said with a small frown. "What do man-made microwave transmitters do to her?"

"Funny you should mention that," Aria grinned. "Have you eve tried putting something metal in a microwave?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Sammy replied with a grimace. "It was like the Fourth of July when the microwave exploded."

"Well now you know why electronics get fried around her," Aria said with an amused shake of her head. "She can usually channel the excess energy from man-made radio technology into the ground, but when she gets excited, her control slips and lets the excess energy broadcast away in an omni-directional blast. She's not consciously aware that her subconscious mind has learned to channel the excess energy into the ground. All she knows is that when she gets excited, anything with a circuit board gets cooked."

"What happens if she doesn't channel the energy somewhere?" Sammy asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure," Aria admitted thoughtfully. "The worst case scenario would be her insides getting cooked. There's also the possibility that it would be like caffeine, giving her an adrenaline rush, or even super-strength. We'll have to test it with some low-powered microwaves after we explain how it all works to her."

"So if she doesn't need oxygen, can she go underwater without any kind of scuba gear?" Sammy asked excitedly.

"Yep," Aria replied with a grin. "I'm actually kind of excited to take her swimming at the lake to see what she thinks. She's never even tried swimming, so she doesn't know that she can stay underwater indefinitely."

"Is she a danger to other humans when she produces these electromagnetic pulses?" Sammy asked cautiously. "Aside from people with pacemakers…"

"She could be," Aria nodded. "If she learned how to direct the excess energy in a focused beam, it would be like shooting a laser beam. On some kind of subconscious level she must realize this, because she tends to always expel the energy in all directions evenly, reducing its intensity."

"I'm guessing there really isn't a way to make it possible for her to speak verbally without lungs," Sammy noted with a sigh. "Poor thing. I wish there were a way to help her communicate without having to write everything out on paper."

"Don't give up hope yet," Aria said firmly. "Even if I can't make lungs and vocal chords for her, there are other methods to help her communicate verbally."

"Like what?" Sammy asked uncomprehendingly.

"Well, it depends on how much control she can gain over her abilities," Aria explained. "If I can teach her how to transmit her wave transmissions on the same frequency as audible sound, she'll be able to use her gift to speak. She's already capable of transmitting radio waves between ten hertz, all the way up into the microwave spectrum. Audible sound only uses between sixteen hertz to sixteen kilohertz. The true challenge will be to help her direct the flow of radio waves. Her 'radio cells', as I think I will call them, spin around like a top when she is broadcasting. I just need to see if she is capable of consciously controlling the alignment of her radio cells to form sound waves in a focused direction."

"If anyone can do that, it's you," Sammy told her confidently. "To be honest, I'm so far out of my depth here that I barely understand what you're talking about."

"Liar," Aria grinned affectionately. "Go to bed, before you fall over."

With an ostentatious yawn, Sammy nodded with a small smile. "Fine…I guess you've sated my curiosity for now."


	2. Concerted Effort

Logan scowled at Scott, as the other man droned on about God knows what. He had stopped listening to Cyclops almost twenty minutes ago. It was amazing how many ways some people could say the same thing without repeating themselves. The last thing he needed was this _child_ telling him how to raid a black government facility. Of course, now that he finally had his memories back, _everyone_ seemed like a child to him. The next time Hank referred to him as '_my boy', _he was going to shave his blue ass as bald as the Professor's head…with his claws.

"Logan, are you even paying attention?" Scott demanded severely.

"Even the Professor isn't rich enough to pay attention to your diarrhea of the mouth, Bub," Logan growled with an exaggerated eye-roll. "Let us know when you're done admiring the sound of your own voice so that we can get this show on the road."

A vein in Scott's forehead stood out and his face turned a mottled red color. "We work as a _team_, hotshot. For once, try and remember that, and stop endangering the lives of everyone else with your shenanigans."

"Yeah, Logan," Jubilee mimicked in a low alto voice. "No more cheeky shenanigans."

"I swear to God, I'll pistol whip the next person to say shenanigans!" Logan declared with a glare that was marred by his twitching lips.

"Dammit, I told you to cut it out with the Super Trooper quotes," Bishop snapped at Jubilee irritably. "Those characters are a disgrace to law enforcement."

"Can we get back on track, please?" Ororo asked icily.

"If this track did more than circles, I might get on board with you," Logan smirked, high-fiving Jubilee at his weak attempt for a pun. "This isn't exactly rocket science. I could bust these kids out of that facility in my sleep. Are we done here?"

Storm's eyes took on a dangerous gleam. "I'm sorry…but I-"

"Apology accepted," Logan interrupted with a grunt, turning on his heel to leave.

"I think it's time for another reminder that Adamantium is an electrical conductor," Storm said darkly.

Logan paused as the hair on his arm began standing up. "You zap me again, and you'll get some metal up your ass."

Before anyone else could say anything, Professor Xavier rolled into the room. "Sometimes I think the three of you have an overdeveloped production of testosterone as one of your mutations. If you can kindly tone down the posturing for a moment, there is something we need to discuss."

"What's on your mind, Wheels?" Logan asked Xavier in a bored tone.

"Something odd is happening in a small lake resort in the middle of nowhere that is puzzling me," Xavier began without preamble. "I'm fairly certain it is being caused by mutants. I need you to take a team and do some digging, before the government notices them."

"What do you need us for?" Logan grumbled, pulling out a cigar. "Just take a peek with Cerebro."

"I've tried, but something is jamming it," Xavier replied calmly.

"What duh ya mean, jammin' it?" Rogue asked with a frown. "Like the helmet Magneto wears?"

"I believe it's a mutant using some kind of large mental shield," Xavier frowned, his brow drawing down. "However, every once in a while I am sensing powerful outbursts of telepathic energy, which I believe are occurring when this particular mutant's mental shield is temporarily dropped. Jean will need to accompany whoever ends up going, because it may be a powerful telepath."

"What do we care?" Logan growled, lighting up his cigar. "If they've figured out how to hide from you this long, they can obviously stay hidden from the government's lousy trackers."

"Logan, I don't want to argue about this…" Xavier's voice was growing annoyed.

"All right, don't get your panties in a wad," Logan muttered under his breath. "Jean and I will go threaten some hicks in the sticks. It'll be fun."

"Panties…" Logan was the only one who could hear the Professor's irritated sigh.

Logan couldn't help a self-satisfied smirk. Nothing made his day like getting under Xavier's prudish skin.

"All right, let's take care of this black government installation so that we can go play at the resort," Jubilee said excitedly. "I can't wait to do some waterskiing!"

"This isn't a vacation," Xavier said pointedly.

"All work and no play make Jubilee a dangerous girl…" Jubilee grinned, a manic gleam in her eyes.

_**oooooo**_

Daphne stood near the front of the crowd, with her hands pressed against the butterflies in her stomach. She was surrounded by at least one hundred of her fellow co-workers in front of a large wooden stage.

Unable to actually speak, she had spent a lot of time cataloging what she considered the best music of the ages over the last decade. Nothing could have prepared her for the powerful music pumping out of the speakers surrounding the stage. The music was so much more _real_ than anything she had ever heard before. When the first song had started, with Aria playing a twelve-string acoustic guitar, she felt chills tingling up and down her spine. Once Aria's voice joined the accompanying tracks from her sound system, she became hopelessly captivated under the small woman's spell. If there was a perfect balance between art and science, this was it.

"What do you think?" Sammy's voice shouted over the noise of the crowd at the end of another song. "Out of this world, right?"

Daphne nodded slowly, her brown eyes wide with awe. She felt her cheeks redden slightly at the throaty chuckle next to her. Sammy was watching her with a knowing smile, as if she knew _exactly_ how drawn she was to the small woman on the stage.

She felt a flash of disappointment as a few boys took over the stage, leaving Aria free to make an exit. Daphne could have happily spent the entire evening listening to this Goddess's voice. She pulled out her notepad and quickly began scrawling.

"Isn't she going to play anything else?" her notepad asked Sammy.

"She'll be back," Sammy assured her with a wink. "She's just taking a break so that some of the other wannabe musicians can share the limelight."

Daphne nodded her head, feeling a sense of excited anticipation for Aria's next performance. The boys currently onstage were making a fair to moderate attempt at a Nickleback song called Rockstar. Daphne doubted anyone was going to play anything like Leaves Eyes or QNTAL, which was a real shame.

Sammy surprised Daphne, joining Aria on stage and singing backup vocals for several of her songs throughout the night. The first few songs Aria had sung weren't flukes; all of her songs were unbelievably powerful. Sammy had announced at the beginning of the night that Aria had written all of the songs herself.

It took quite a while for the night to wind down. Every time Aria tried to leave the stage, she was shouted back up by the crowd, who couldn't seem to get enough of her music. The small woman didn't dance around the stage like a teenie-bopper artist; she flowed and swayed to the beat like she was floating through water. The graceful movements were hypnotic and enthralling.

Daphne would have been rich if she were given a dollar every time someone commented on how surprising it was to see the reclusive IT Assistant starring in the evening's event. Apparently, most of the permanent residents didn't even know Aria played an instrument.

It was nearly midnight when Aria suddenly froze on the stage, with her background soundtracks continuing to play without her voice. She was looking up into the night sky with an intensity that was unnerving. Daphne looked upward nervously, wondering what had caught the other woman's undivided attention.

Sammy stopped singing backup vocals when she realized she was singing alone. Her voice carried easily through the crowd as she spoke to Aria before turning her face away from the microphone. "What's the matter?"

Aria finally looked down and met Sammy's gaze with a grim expression. Daphne's eyebrows rose in surprise when Aria nodded her way. "They're here for her. I'm afraid my time of preparation is at an end."

"Government?" Sammy asked tersely.

"Yep," Aria confirmed lightly. "This will actually be a good thing, because now I can find out where they were going to try and take her. Hopefully, there are others there who we can help."

Daphne noticed that she was not the only person in the crowd who was growing uncomfortable with their conversation. Aria finally stopped the instrumental portion of her song before turning back to the microphone.

"For your own safety, please leave the area immediately," Aria spoke into the mic. "There is a Special Forces team arriving in less than a minute, and they don't plan on being nice. Go back to your rooms and wait until the noise dies down before coming back out."

Only about half of the crowd heeded her advice. The rest just watched her with bemusement, occasionally glancing up at the sky doubtfully. At the sound of helicopter rotors, more people in the crowd decided it would be a good time to leave.

Daphne turned to leave as well, wondering if they could actually be after her. She wasn't sure who _they_ were, but it was probably something related to the government.

"No so fast, my pretty titan," Aria stopped Daphne with a smile. "You better stick with me."

How had the small woman moved over to her side so quickly? She had just been on the stage, almost twenty-feet away a mere second ago.

"What's going on?" Daphne scrawled hurriedly.

"The military wants to abduct you for experimentation," Aria told her with a grin that was at odds with her words. "We're not going to let them though."

Before further dialogue could take place, a dozen black helicopters appeared over ahead. Black-clad commandos began repelling down onto the recently vacated lawn. Daphne felt a surge of panic as the men lifted a variety of weapons and trained them on her. She felt the familiar discharge of electricity pulse out of her body as her fear spiked, and a moment later the helicopters in the air lost power. The commandos in front of her ran for cover as the helicopters began falling from the sky.

Daphne was too terrified to move. She just stared as the spinning rotors plummeted from the sky, as if gravity had suddenly remembered that these law-breaking humans didn't belong in the air. Just before the erratically spinning helicopters hit the ground, everything froze in place. The soldiers near the rec center, the few employees still running for cover, and the helicopters, were all frozen where they stood. It was like a movie had suddenly been paused.

"Let's get rid of your toys, shall we?" Aria said pleasantly.

The pilots of the motionless helicopters were pulled out of the windshields by some kind of invisible force and dropped to the ground. A moment later, the helicopters crumpled up with a deafening bang of imploding metal. Where several transport carriers had hovered in the air a moment ago, a dozen balls of dense metal no larger than marbles now floated.

"I think we'll put these at the bottom of the lake for a future race to puzzle over," Aria murmured. "They can try to figure out how such a dense material developed naturally."

The marble-sized balls of metal dropped through a small hole in the air that had opened up beneath them. There was a small splashing sound just before the hole in the air vanished.

"Let's see what we have here," Aria mused with a small smile on her face.

Daphne thought about pinching herself, in case she wasn't really awake, as she watched several dozen commandos levitated through the air and dropped into a single group on the lawn. They all wore helmets that covered their faces, along with some kind of full-body armor.

Daphne blushed and looked away as the armor dissolved off the commandos like steam, leaving them naked in their birthday suits. They were all glaring at Aria with pure hate in their eyes as she began walking around their immobile forms slowly.

"So who wants to tell me where you planned on taking your would-be captive?" Aria asked conversationally.

"Fuck you, freak!" one of the men snarled.

"Not even if you promise to bathe," Aria replied dryly. "Now…let's see what we can find in your dirty little minds. I want you to try really hard to _not_ think of the place you were going to take Daphne."

Daphne looked at the small woman in puzzlement. If she was telepathic, why would she _not_ want them to think of where they were going to take her?

"And we have a winner!" Aria declared with a triumphant grin. "Reverse psychology never fails."

"Did you see where it is?" Sammy asked with a nervous grin.

Daphne looked at the dark-skinned woman in surprise. She had been so focused on Aria and the commandos that she hadn't even noticed Sammy join them.

"Yep," Aria replied with a grin. "First, let's send these clowns on their way. Then we'll go rescue the other prisoners."

"What are you going to do to them?" Sammy asked curiously.

"I'm going to let them go," Aria replied with a malicious grin.

As she finished speaking, a large hole in the air opened up. There were pine trees and large shrubs on the other side of the Gateway. The Gateway wrapped around the group of naked men like a living entity, swallowing them before fading like a mirage.

"Where was that?" Sammy asked.

"Canada," Aria replied with a broad grin. "I dare say it will take them a couple weeks to find their way to civilization again."

"Too bad there aren't any cameras around," Sammy said with a laugh. "They could have their own reality show."

"How are you doing?" Aria asked Daphne softly.

Daphne started to scrawl, but Aria gently restrained her hand.

"Just think your response and I'll be able to hear it," Aria told her.

_What the _freak _is going on?_ Daphne thought loudly.

"I'll let Sammy fill you in," Aria replied with a small smile. "I need to make a quick trip to a black government holding facility first."


	3. Implosion

"You're not letting us go with you?" Sammy asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach. The thought of her small blonde goddess going off to fight an army in a high-tech military compound without someone to watch her back was enough to make her sick. She had every confidence in Aria, but there was always room for error. What if they had technology capable of suppressing her telekinetic power? What if she lost focus and a bullet made it through her shield? Would her less-than-solid body survive such an assault? Sammy knew she was working herself into a tizzy, but she couldn't stop the frenetic questions from racing through her mind.

"Calm down, turbo," Aria laid a reassuring hand on her arm. "I'll be fine. If I take you with me, it might divide my focus enough to cause problems. If you weren't so nice to look at, it wouldn't be such a big deal."

Even in her worried state, Sammy blushed at the other woman's comment. She had always felt insecure with the fact that she wasn't black or white, but somewhere in-between. Even in the twenty-first century, race was an unspoken judgment. Not only was she a mutant, she was an interracial misfit as well. Both white and black people gave her the stink-eye. It was really nice to have someone who seemed to see through all of that nonsense and just see _her_. She couldn't let anything happen to such a precious creature. "I'm coming with you."

Aria was looking at her with an affectionate smile, obviously having listened to her thoughts. "If I leave a Gateway open in the apartment for you to watch from, will you stay here? If anything happens to me, it will close automatically. I really do need you somewhere safe, or I won't be able to concentrate."

Sammy stared at Aria silently for several seconds before slowly nodding. She had no intention of just staying on one side of the Gateway if it looked like Aria ran into any kind of trouble that she couldn't handle.

Aria opened a Gateway to the front room of the apartment, beckoning Daphne to follow them through in troubled silence.

As soon as they were through the Gateway, Aria opened another one that led to a rocky beach. There was a large, cement building several thousand-feet away, surrounded by an asphalt parking lot. Hundreds of small electric vehicles were scattered throughout the parking lot, along with a few dozen Hummers. A fifteen-foot wall surrounded the building, with guard towers spaced every five-hundred feet.

"Can they see us?" Sammy asked nervously as one of the spotlights from a guard tower flashed over them.

"No," Aria replied reassuringly. "Light can come through from that side, but it can't travel back to the other side. Go ahead and fill Daphne in on everything I told you while I take care of this."

Sammy nodded, never taking her eyes off the other woman. Aria smiled at her confidently, then strode through the Gateway as calmly as if she were on a walk at the park.

_**oooooo**_

Jubilee grinned excitedly as the Blackbird closed in on the small island hosting the mutant prison. She looked up to see Logan smirking at her in amusement as she tried to keep from bouncing on her toes in anticipation. The only thing better than setting up pranks on her flatmates, was being given free reign to unleash her destructive powers on deserving villains.

"Do you mind if I top-off before the fun starts?" Jubilee asked Logan quickly.

"Have at me, kiddo," Logan replied with a half-smile, tilting his neck sideways to give her easy-access.

Jubilee always felt a little guilty drinking his blood, but the fact that he couldn't get infected and would immediately regenerate made it easier to bear. She hurriedly sank her fangs into his aorta and drank greedily for several seconds before pulling back and licking the residual blood from her lips.

"Thanks," Jubilee smiled gratefully, as her canines retracted to a less threatening size.

"Anytime," Logan replied with a faint smile as the two fang marks healed in less than a second.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Ororo's voice demanded from the cockpit.

Jubilee bounced back to her feet and ran to the front of the Blackbird to look out the windshield. A large cloud of dust was growing around the edge of the compound, escalating until the entire building was hidden from view. A few seconds later, a blinding flash accompanied by a deafening pop assaulted their senses.

As the invisible Blackbird circled the island cautiously, the dust settled back to the ground. Jubilee stared in astonishment that quickly turned to disappointment as the dust finally cleared enough to show the complete absence of any kind of building.

"What just happened?" Scott demanded acerbically.

"The building just imploded," Hank said, absently scratching his stomach with sharpened claws. "I wonder if anyone was inside…"

"It was devoid of life before it imploded," Emma informed them coolly.

"Does that mean you felt life in it before it imploded?" Storm asked, annoyed.

"Yes," Emma replied, looking entirely unconcerned. "But they vanished before it did."

"Vanished where?" Jubilee wondered aloud.

"Elsewhere," Emma replied coldly, eyeing her frostily.

Jubilee knew the Telepath was still resentful at finding several hundred pounds of ice poured out on her bed a couple days ago. Who would have thought that a person with the last name of Frost would mind having a layer of ice on their bed? Bobbi was still vacillating between amusement and anger that Jubilee hadn't told him what she was doing with all of the ice he had provided. Bobbi always whined when he wasn't included in her pranks.

"We better get back to the mansion and see if Chuck has any idea of their whereabouts," Logan said irritably.

He was obviously just as unhappy about missing a good fight as she was. Jubilee always loved the way Logan called Charles Xavier by the nickname of Chuck; it seemed to drive the bald Professor crazy.

"Too bad Jean's not here," Ororo noted with a sigh. "She could have at least sensed what happened and given us some kind of clue as to who is responsible."

"As if there is any doubt," Emma snapped waspishly. All you had to do was mention Jean doing something the tall blonde couldn't do, and the Telepath turned into the anthropomorphic personification of her surname.

"This couldn't have been Magneto," Scott told her in a placating tone. "He can only do this to metal, and nobody else in the Brotherhood has enough power to do this."

"That we know about…" Emma muttered grimly.

_**oooooo**_

"I still don't understand why the Prufessor didn't just wait for the others tah git back so we could all go together," Rogue complained as the Albatross came closer to a ridiculously small airstrip.

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Jean replied absently. She was fairly certain Charles was just being petty. She had learned that he had a childish streak a mile wide, if you knew what to look for.

"No offense, Jean, but these trips always seem longer without Jubilee and Logan along for entertainment," Rogue sighed as the Albatross's wheels touched down on the eroded asphalt.

"Somehow, I think you'll survive," Jean replied dryly. Her heart wasn't in it though. She could feel some very strange activity going on in the sandstone valley near the lake. She had met a number of telekinetic mutants in her lifetime, but most of them were like thugs trying to wield a rapier with their abilities. She had only met two mutants who possessed enough intellect to take their telekinetic ability beyond brute force into the realm of artistic science. The complex resonance of energy emanating from the valley below them reminded her of one of the brilliant Telekinetics she had met before. It couldn't have been either of the people she had known before though, because they were both dead.

"Are ya goin' tah come back tah Earth, or am ah on muh own?" Rogue drawled in her Southern accent.

"We might need the Phoenix for this trip," Jean replied softly. She had learned to control the new personality that had joined her consciousness, after a fashion, but she was still reluctant to use the awesome power the Phoenix embodied.

"That bad, huh?" Rogue noted sourly. "I think the Professor has a few loose screws, tah tell ya the truth. What if this turns out to be a satellite extension of the Brotherhood?"

"I don't think it is," Jean replied with a frown. "It doesn't feel like them. Whoever it is, they have managed to stay completely hidden from the local population. I'm not even getting a hint in their thoughts that there is a mutant living here."

"Maybe there aren't any mutants here…" Rogue said slowly. "Ever since the San Francisco debacle, Xavier's been a few steps past paranoid."

"No, there's definitely a mutant here," Jean assured her as she pulled the Albatross into one of the small parking slots. She used her telekinesis to connect the chains from the pavement to the Albatross's wings. "Possibly more than one. I'm getting some very strange echoes."

"Echoes?" Rogue repeated with a small grin.

"It's an effect of telekinesis I've been trying to define," Jean elaborated. "I've spent most of my life needing to see everything I want to move via telekinesis. A few months ago, I started to discover that it is possible to sense objects with my telekinesis, as well as move them, without line of sight. It is redefining my understanding of how everything works. Whoever lives in this resort has a much greater understanding of telekinesis than I do."

"Was that an attempt tuh make muh feel better?" Rogue asked sarcastically. "Cause if it was, it did nah work."

"Let's just play it cool then," Jean suggested with a wry grin at her terminology. "Pretend like we're just normal tourists, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Rogue agreed skeptically. "An just hope they are nah some kind of super-telepath as well."

Jean looked around the airstrip with a frown as she remembered that they had no vehicle with which to drive down to the resort, and no rental service in the area. _Damn these provincial hick towns._

"So what now?" Rogue asked as the ramp lowered. "Don't tell me we have tah walk down to this flyspeck town."

"Let me try the shortwave," Jean replied curtly.

"I sure hope someone's monitoring it," Rogue said doubtfully.

"November niner 00412 hailing Defiant House air control, do you copy?" Jean said into her headset.

"Copy, this is the Defiant House," a female voice on the radio sounded over the age of fifty.

"Is there a taxi service available at the airstrip?" Jean asked hopefully.

"We have a shuttle service between 6am to 10pm," the woman replied helpfully. "Do you require a shuttle right now?"

"Yes please," jean replied courteously.

"She'll arrive within the next twenty minutes," the woman replied professionally.

"Thank you," Jean answered with a grateful sigh.

"Thank God for the shortwave," Rogue chuckled.

"I'll admit my surprise that someone would even answer it here," Jean replied.

"You look like someone who doesn't trust the reality that is presented tah them," Rogue noted with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't trust anything about this crazy place," Jean admitted with sigh. "Everything feels weird."

"Rock, paper, scissors," Rogue said with a shake of her fist.

"I beg your pardon," Jean said with puzzled expression.

"I'm bored…" Rogue explained. "We have twenty minutes until the shuttle arrives. I need something tah entertain me, since Jubilee and Logan are nah here."

"Fine," Jean sighed with exaggerated patience. She raised her fist and began shaking it.

It only took five minutes for Rogue to quit playing.

"You're not allowed to use your powers to cheat," Rogue declared accusingly.

"You know I'm not," Jean replied, rolling her eyes. "You know perfectly well how to shield your mind from a Telepath."

"You've found a way around it somehow," Rogue glared at her. "How else are yah winnin' every single time?"

"Didn't you know that luck was my other super power?" Jean asked innocently.

"You're a liar, and not a very good one at that," Rogue retorted in disgust.

The shuttle arrived earlier than expected, and Rogue sighed with relief. "Thank God for small mercies."

"That's quite the aircraft you have there," the old man driving the shuttle van noted, looking impressed. "Are those vertical thrusters I see?"

"Yeah," Jean replied shortly.

"Where can I take you?" he asked in a friendly manner. "By the way, my name's Ed."

"The Defiance House lodge," Jean replied curtly. Her eyes were distant in a manner Rogue recognized; she was reading his mind.

"Sounds good," he replied, sneaking curious glances at the two of them. It was probably odd for two people who appeared to be so young to show up in an expensive-looking private jet. "Do you mind if I make a short pick-up at our rec center on the way to the lodge? There's an employee who needs a ride to the restaurant."

"Sure," Jean answered vaguely.

They drove in silence until they pulled up to a group of what looked like college dorm buildings. A growing crowd was gathering in front of a wooden stage filled with sound equipment and musical instruments.

"Yuh got a concert goin' on t'night?" Rogue asked Ed curiously.

"Something like that," Ed replied with a shrug. "I think it's actually one of our employees who is putting on the show. They have another driver that is staying on until midnight if you want to come down and watch it."

"Sounds fun," Rogue started with a grin.

"Perhaps another time," Jean interposed, giving Rogue a meaningful look. "We have other business to attend to right now."

"Spoilsport," Rogue complained under her breath.

"How late is the restaurant opened until?" Jean asked Ed.

"It closes in fifteen minutes, at 10pm," Ed replied. "I'm sure there's still time to have a meal if you go straight in when we arrive."


	4. Rescue

Marissa looked up in surprise as the door to her cell opened without the green safety light turning on first. Somebody must not have been following protocol. Suppressing the sudden sense of hope that flooded her system, she calmed her mind and took a deep breath. This might be her only chance to escape.

The clamps binding her arms, legs, torso, neck, and head to the metal bed beneath her suddenly retracted, leaving her free to move. She didn't need to think twice before sprinting toward the exit at supersonic speeds. She only took two steps before the air around her seemed to solidify, freezing her in place.

"You won't need to do that," a melodious female voice announced from the empty space right in front of her.

"What?" Marissa squinted suspiciously, wondering what games they were up to now.

"I'm here to help you," the disembodied voice said softly.

Before Marissa could say anything else, a hole in the air opened next to her, leading into some kind of large audience hall.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I really am here to free you," the woman said gently. "Go through the Gateway and wait for me. I'll be sending the other prisoners through in a moment."

Marissa frowned doubtfully. "Why should I trust you?"

"Simple arithmetic," the woman said with a grin in her voice. "What are the odds of your situation getting worse than it currently is?"

Marissa smiled slightly at that. _She has a point._

"Please keep an eye on the younger children I'll be sending through," the woman continued in a more serious tone. "Some of them are barely more than babies."

Marissa nodded, making her decision. With another deep breath, she let her metabolism slow down and stepped through the hole in the air.

_**oooooo**_

Ariel fought against the sludge pulsing through her brain, trying to find a weakness in the stupefying gel that kept her mind from fully awakening. She only had a few seconds until the next dose of liquid stupid was injected into her blood. She wouldn't be this lucid for another eight hours.

As she fought in vain to reach the raging inferno in her chest that would allow her to liquefy everything in sight, a scientist in a white lab coat strolled through the door. His bored expression failed to hide the lines of cruelty permanently etched into his face. He walked over to the IV and inserted a syringe filled with brown goo. He paused before injecting it as the door opened. When it closed a moment later without anyone entering, he looked up at her with a smirk on his face.

"It's too bad this drug makes you infertile," he leered. His dark brown eyes were filled with a look that haunted Ariel's nightmares. "Otherwise, the rest of the guys and I would have children by now. But I suppose you black out for the first few hours and don't remember that part of the treatment, do you?"

Ariel struggled futilely with her restraints as his oily grin widened. He put his thumb on the syringe plunger and started slowly pushing inward. Ariel watch in puzzled fascination as the fluid dropped into the IV bag, and then stopped. It was as if the muddy-brown substance was suddenly insoluble with water.

Her jailor noticed at the same time, frowning in sudden doubt. He must have remembered the door opening without anyone entering at the same time as Ariel, because he sudden whirled around, searching the small cell with small, piggy eyes. Before he could pull out his tazer, his breath suddenly caught in his throat.

"I was just going to drop you off in the African desert," a young, female voice said conversationally. "But after that comment, I have a much better idea."

Ariel watched in shock as a hole opened up in the air. A moment later, a dense jungle came into view. Even from her limited vantage point, Ariel could see several silverback gorillas turning around in surprise. A moment later, her former jailor was literally swallowed by the hole in the air.

Still trying to decide if she was awake, Ariel gasped as the restraints holding her down suddenly retracted.

"You ready to leave this dump?" the girl's voice asked lightly, as another hole opened up in the air.

_**oooooo**_

Suzanna glared at the 'so-called-scientist' as he studied a series of radiographs on the wall. She could tell by the excited gleam in his eyes that he had figured something out that was interesting to these Nazi bastards. Her ability to change her height didn't seem like a superpower any superhero would want, but apparently, the villains were beside themselves with excitement over her ability. Whoever ran this place was probably short, with a chip on his shoulder against tall people. She had no doubt it was a him; she had yet to set eyes on a female. The place was probably founded by some misogynistic midget who wanted to pay the world back for all of the perceived slights he had endured in his _short_ life.

Suzanna blinked as a hole in the air opened up behind the excited scientist. Before he even had a chance to notice it, the _thing_ came alive and swallowed him.

Suzanna stared at the place the mad-scientist had been standing in sudden fear. What if that thing came after _her_?

"It's okay, I'm here to help," a voice announced from the empty space above her.

A second later, the restraints retracted and a hole in the air appeared. There was a large meeting hall on the other side of the Gateway, where a couple of girls wearing the same prison attire Suzanna wore were walking around inspecting everything in fascination.

"Go ahead and join them," the voice said kindly. "I'll be sending the other prisoners along shortly.

"Who are you?" Suzanna asked slowly, as she sat up from her _extremely _uncomfortable metal bed.

"My name is Aria," the voice replied.

"Why can't I see you?" Suzanna asked suspiciously. It would be just like these Nazi's to pretend to let her go, then pounce on her just when a small shred of hope began to grow.

"Because I am making myself invisible," Aria replied, a smile in her voice. "As I reminded one of your cell mates earlier, you really don't have anything to lose. Trust me; everything is going to be much better from now on."

Suzanna glanced at the camera watching them doubtfully. The red LED that normally indicated it had power was off. Taking a deep breath, Suzanna stood up and slowly walked through the Gateway.

As she looked back, the Gateway rippled and vanished.

"Welcome to the party," a voice said behind her. "Maybe she really _is_ going to help us."

Suzanna turned around and found the two girls she had seen through the Gateway earlier, watching her with interest.

_**oooooo**_

Sylvia stared at the man in the white lab coat in trepidation. He had been staring at a thin-screen monitor with a look of frustrated irritation for almost twenty minutes. She knew it had been twenty minutes; the internal clock ticking in her head was never wrong. Before the men in suits had shown up, the doctors had told her parents she had something called Projected OCD. With nothing but time on her hands, she had ample opportunity to come up with alternate definitions for the OCD acronym. Her father had used the term Occupational Colon Distention to explain what happened to people who worked for the military; that was her favorite at the moment.

Today was her tenth birthday, marking a year from the time her innate sense of order began warping the environment around her. Objects on desks would move to the edges and line up perfectly, as if they had briefly become sentient. Sylvia had no control over the effect; it just happened whenever she got excited about something. Everything in a room would suddenly toe the line, so to speak, and where chaos had once taken root, order was established.

She had heard the scientists talk to each other about entangled electrons, group consciousness, and interconnected dimensions, but none of it made much sense to her. She could tell it didn't make much sense to them either, as they seemed to get more confused with each new test they did on her.

Sylvia's thoughts came to a halt as she stared at what appeared to be a hole in the air. She couldn't stop the shrill scream that escaped her lips as the tear in reality appeared to swallow the lab technician like a ravenous monster.

"It's okay, Sylvia," a kind voice spoke from the empty air next to her bed. "I'm here to take you to a better place."

_**oooooo**_

Rogue knocked on Jeans door for the fourth time in as many minutes. "Are you out of the tub yet? I want to go see that concert."

"I told you to come back in fifteen minutes, not five," Jean growled from somewhere on the other side of the door. "Now scram!"

"I always suspected you were some kind of Vernicious Knid," Rogue retorted spitefully. "Scram yourself!"

"Damn that Roald Dahl, anyway," Jean muttered in a voice that was barely audible. "With our luck, some idiot will end up mutating into one of those monstrosities just to keep life interesting for the rest of us."

"What are you going on about?" Rogue asked, frowning.

"I thought you were supposed to scram…" Jean replied pointedly.

"Can you repeat the rest of that sentence, please?" Rogue drawled. "I got hung up after the first two words when you said 'you thought'."

Silence.

"Fine, give me the silent treatment," Rogue sighed dramatically. "You can come hang out when you grow up and decide to have some fun. I'll be down at that concert."

A loud boom rattled the walls. Rogue ran over to the sliding glass patio doors and looked outside. The skies were completely clear, with no clouds in sight. There were lights twinkling all over the lake in the marina below, but there didn't seem to be any kind of fires or other indications of an incendiary explosion.

"What was that?" Jean called out of the bathroom in annoyance.

"Beats me," Rogue replied absently, searching the landscape for anything unusual.

A moment later, Jean emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, with a scowl on her face. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Rogue repeated blankly. "Why do you think _I_ did something?"

"Cause it's you, and you're bored," Jean replied dryly.

"Looks like the five oh heard it too," Rogue gestured at some flashing red and blue lights in the distance. "Get dressed; I want to go see what's going on."

"Fine," Jean sighed, eyeing Rogue suspiciously as she complied.

"I'm going to see if the front desk can call us a shuttle," Rogue muttered after several moments of enduring Jean's distrustful glances.

"Are you sure you aren't still using Gambit's powers?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know it wears off quicker than that," Rogue retorted as she left the room.

Life had been interesting for everyone at the mansion after Jubilee had convinced Gambit that Rogue had temporarily lost her powers. Rogue had awakened to Gambit placing a wet one on her in the middle of the night. Her head had suddenly been filled with his thoughts, as well as his ability to manipulate kinetic energy. For the short week that she retained his ability, the mansion was filled with loud explosions as she accidentally energized almost everything she touched. She had quickly learned that just because she took on another mutant's ability didn't mean she would know how to control it.

An excited buzz filled the lobby of the lodge as Rogue entered. One of the front desk workers was gesticulating wildly as she talked excitedly into the phone.

"I know, right?" the girl said with a wide grin. "Who would have thought our shy little IT would turn out to be some kind of super hero? Does anyone know where she went? Really? She just stepped through a hole in the air and _vanished_? This is _so_ the coolest place I have ever worked! I've got to go now, I have a guest. See ya!"

"Any idea what caused the loud bang earlier?" Rogue asked the excited girl curiously.

"Yeah, it was a whole bunch of helicopters getting compressed into marbles," the girl told her with a straight face.

"Oh…" Rogue said slowly. "I should have guessed it was something like that, I suppose."


	5. Auras

Emily looked up from her iPad as an airline attendant offered her some refreshments from the trolley. She wordlessly shook her head with a polite smile before looking back down at the book she was reading. She didn't need to see the woman's slight smirk to know she was amused at Emily's bright yellow clothes. Just once, she wished she could meet a real person who was like the characters in her favorite stories. She had already read Music of the Soul a couple of times, but she found the characters so alluring that she was always drawn back for just one more read.

Reality was always such a disappointment. Being able to see people's auras was a curse she would never wish upon anyone. At twenty years old, she had been reading other people's auras for nearly ten years. At first, she just saw a variety of colored nimbuses outlining people, with no idea that they had a deeper meaning. After getting her eyes checked, the doctors had informed her parents that there was nothing wrong with her vision; it was all in her head.

It had only taken a couple of months for her to realize there was a pattern to the colors that revealed a great deal about an individual's personality. Red was usually the most prominent color in a person's aura, and represented ambition. Blue was the next most common color, representing deception and manipulation. Yellow was the rarest, but by far her favorite. It indicated a love of life and all things fun. She could count the number of individuals she had encountered who had yellow in their auras on one hand. Yellow tended to be incompatible with red and blue. The few people she had met with yellow in their aura had no trace of blue or red, and they stood apart from their peers even without her ability to see their auras. They exuded a presence, a kind of life force that was like a bonfire next to the candle-like flames of the reds and blues.

After ten years of studying people's auras, she could see enough information in the more faint colors and patterns to almost read their minds. Green was always fainter than red and blue. It was funny that people used the term 'green with envy' when that was exactly what it represented. She must not have been the first person on Earth to see other people's auras.

Brown was just below green in frequency, showing up more prominently in men than women. It had a tendril-like quality, reaching out to wrap around other individuals as they came into physical contact with each other. It was the color of dominion. Charismatic people almost looked like squids as their brown tentacles subdued their peers without even coming into physical contact with them.

The brighter a person's aura, the more pronounced their character traits would be. She occasionally found herself squinting at some of the more brilliantly lit auras she encountered. Politicians almost always had bright auras, and they were invariably the uglier colors of red, blue, green, and brown.

She identified white as the color of social anxiety. Shy people always had a large dose of white in their aura. She knew without looking in a mirror that white was the strongest color in her own aura. It was a relief that red, blue, and brown were almost nonexistent in her aura. She had just a slight tint of yellow, which sometimes pulsed brighter depending on her mood.

She could tell by the pattern and interplay between the couple across the aisle that the husband was cheating on his wife. It was just as apparent that the wife knew it too, and accepted it with a sense of resignation.

The pompous man in front of them, outfitted in an expensive suit, had killed people on a number of occasions. The river of energy that flowed around his outline was like a biography to her cursed sight, telling the story of his wretched existence. He was a classic sociopath. She was amazed at how many sociopaths the modern world seemed to be creating. In a world obsessed with a race for economic superiority, survival of the fittest clearly favored sociopaths.

The three-hundred and fifty pound woman sitting next to her was a mixture of green and blue respectively. She hated everything about the world, and would take great pleasure in watching other people suffer. The thing she hated most was beautiful women, whom she believed were responsible for setting the bar for beauty too high. Her piggy eyes glared daggers at Emily every time she glanced her way.

Emily tried as best she could to put more space between her enormous neighbor as the women spitefully shoved her beefy elbows outwards like a linebacker every time she squirmed to get more comfortable in the too-small seat.

Emily had never thought of herself as pretty. With her shoulder-length brown hair and light-brown eyes, she thought the term 'cute' might be too optimistic to describe herself. Her sharp cheekbones and tiny nose bordered on comical, in her opinion. Her only saving grace was when she smiled; she could safely admit to herself that she had a beautiful smile.

Despite the disparaging self-image she had of herself, she had not lacked for attention in high school. Despite the many offers, she had never actually been on a formal date. Being able to see a person's true intentions spelled out in their aura had given her a jaded view of humanity, and she had declined every boy who had ever asked her out. There was only one thing on their minds, and it was loud, clear, and very expressive in their aura.

When the Captain's voice announced their arrival in Seattle, she couldn't stop an explosive sigh of relief from escaping her lungs. The large woman next to her glared at her with pure hate, making a point to jab her beefy elbows around as she prepared to disembark.

After growing up in Western New York, she was eager to start a new life on the other side of the continent. She hoped more than anything that people were nicer on the West Coast; spending the rest of her life surrounded by the gruesome colors of red, blue, green, and brown was a fate she desperately hoped to avoid. People were supposedly more tolerant in the Northwest. In her mind, that equated to people who would have more than four major colors in their aura.

She wasted no time disembarking, putting as much distance between herself and her large neighbor as quickly as possible. When she saw a TSA guy eyeballing her suspiciously, she made a conscious effort to slow down. _The last thing I need is to be detained by these government-sanctioned perverts while they cop a feel._

As she made her way out of the airport to find a cab, a streak of brilliant yellow light drew her eyes like a moth to a flame. The owner of the ridiculously powerful aura was a child who was walking across the crosswalk towards her purposefully. Emily had to squint to actually see any details on the girl's face. She blinked as she realized it wasn't a child after all; it was just a very small woman. The woman glanced at her curiously as she walked past, no doubt wondering why she was squinting at her. Just as she passed her, the small woman came to a sudden halt and turned to look at her with a small smile on a face that could have been sculpted by the gods.

"I'm Aria," the small woman informed her in a voice that would make angels green with envy. "Need a lift?"

Emily just stared at the small woman stupidly as her brain tried to compute what the other woman was saying. _How could _anyone_ have an aura that strong? And it's yellow! Wow! She's more than a decade older than I am, too!_

Being able to ascertain a person's age accurately was one of the few qualities of her cursed gift. If she couldn't sense the smaller woman's aura, she would have guessed she was in high school.

"I'll take your silence as a yes," Aria said with a wry grin tugging at one side of her mouth. "Give me a moment to collect someone else, and we'll be ready to go, Emily."

The sound of her own name snapped her out of her daze. "How did you know my name?"

"It's on your luggage," Aria's smile widened as she pointed at Emily's suitcase.

_God, I'm such a git!_ Emily thought in embarrassment. She knew that if she were to look at herself in a mirror, the white in her aura would be flaring brilliantly enough to see her reflection in a darkened room.

"Be right back," Aria told her with reassuring wink. "Don't go anywhere."

"Okay…" Emily mumbled, too quiet to be heard.

As Aria quickly walked into the terminal, Emily looked down at the nametag on her luggage. It was hanging from the handle, with the writing facing inwards. How had Aria been able to read it when it wasn't even visible?

There was something very strange going on with that small bundle of fire. Every once in a while, Emily would feel a premonition when something significant was about to happen in her life. As she looked back into the terminal where Aria had disappeared, she experienced a tingling sensation work its way up her spine. She sure hoped this turned out to be one of the good premonitions. The last three had been unpleasant at best.

She didn't have to wait very long. Less than five minutes had passed before Aria came back out of the terminal, with a tall blonde woman in tow. She would have been beautiful on her own, but next to Aria, she was merely pretty. The taller woman had a confused look on her face as she followed Aria out of the terminal.

The tall woman was barely eighteen years old, and had one of the strangest auras Emily had ever seen. It was hazy, like she was out of focus. The most prominent colors were white and silver. Silver was another rarity that Emily had only seen a few times. She was pretty sure it meant resilience, but with so few encounters to compare it to, it was difficult to say for sure. There was no trace of red, blue, or brown.

_I really did come to the right place! I've already met two people without those hated colors!_ Emily felt a silly grin on her face as the two approached, and hurriedly wiped it off as the tall blonde looked at her nervously.

"This is Niniva," Aria introduced the tall woman. "Niniva, this is Emily."

"Pleased to meet you," Emily held out her hand hesitantly.

"Likewise," Niniva replied in a sexy accent that Emily couldn't place. The tall woman took her hand timidly, letting go quickly.

"Well, let's get going, shall we?" Aria suggested with an infectious smile. "Our friends are eagerly awaiting us."

"I'm sorry, missus, but where are we going?" Niniva asked with a confused look that was mirrored on Emily's face. "And how did you know who I was?"

"I'll explain everything on the way," Aria assured them with another infectious grin. "Don't worry; you both know I wouldn't do anything to harm you."

Niniva shared a searching look with Emily, probably wondering the same thing. _Can she see auras too? How would she know that we know we can trust her?_

With a rueful shake of her head, Emily followed the small woman over to a silver sedan and got in the back seat. Niniva got in the other side. After sharing another curious look with Emily, Niniva pulled her seatbelt on and looked at Aria's reflection in the rearview mirror expectantly.

"How would the two of you like to join a school for gifted individuals like yourself?" Aria asked as she pulled out of the parking space.

"What's the name of the school?" Emily asked at the same time that Niniva asked where it was located.

"We're still working on a name," Aria admitted with a sheepish grin. "It's located all over the world."

"How does a school that is located all over the world not have a name?" Emily asked doubtfully.

"When I say it's located all over the world, I'm not referring to satellite campuses," Aria explained with a chuckle. "You'll see what I mean."

Emily shared another concerned look with Niniva as Aria pulled into an empty parking lot. Her breath caught as she realized Aria wasn't slowing down as they reached the end of the parking lot. A large concrete building stood in front of them, looking more solid as they rapidly approached.

"Are you crazy, what are you doing?" Niniva exclaimed in alarm, cringing back into her seat.

"Showing you the school, of course," Aria replied, calmly taking off her rose-tinted glasses.

Emily blinked as a pair of mischievous lavender eyes watched her in the rearview mirror. _What kind of person has eyes that color?_

That was the last thought that went through her head before they collided with the concrete building.


End file.
